ExRx.net

http://library.constantcontact.com/down ... rossed.pdf got this in my email yesterday from velocity's sports performance mailing list. I used to train there, but not anymore (expensive)..but I still get their email mailing list.

I think I have it, but then I don't think I do because I get knots next to my shoulder blades & slightly under my shoulder blades that I have to release with a golf ball every day and especially after I come home from work at ralphs as a courtesy clerk bagging groceries. It also occurs when I do rows. I stopped doing bench press exercises for a while and exercises for the delts and stuff to focus on my back and is thinking this might have been the cause or maybe something else? It does feel like I am hunching sometimes and I also have to massage with the golf ball too. . I know the PDF says the rhomboid muscles would be weak, but I don't think they are if I get knots every time I do rows now. I just recently started back up on bench pressing. I have noticed from focusing on the back a lot and stuff that my softball hitting power has decreased as well.

and I think I also still have overactive lats. My shoulders fatique and get the burning/tired feeling easily, so I have stayed away from pull ups and lat pulldowns until I can get my shoulder endurance up. I am taking up yoga at school and I have always had trouble whole semester staying in the downward dog position due to my shoulders getting tired like right away. I have also not done any overhead pressing and recently just started doing that. I am weak overhead and that may be the cause of the tiring little muscles somewhere in the shoulder that is causing me not to stay in the downward dog position for more than about 10 seconds before screaming at me. I am thinking it may be the lats doing it or my rear deltoids.

What do you guys think that actually may be weak or too strong? I think I still may have slight forward head posture (feels like it sometimes) because I cannot sit up straight for a long period of time before resting against a chair due to the rhomboids needing a golf ball to release the knots that build up. Am I heading the right direction going into bench press now and shoulder presses as well (trying to keep my upper trap from doing work in the shoulder press too so it wont get tight)? I also used to be able to do push ups well too, but I feel like it got weak too due to the back rhomboid strength. For push ups though, I still have to do them on my fist because my left wrist still does not want to cooperate with me when I try to do it on my palms..which I would love to start doing again instead of on my fist.

Something is weak and something is tight...trying to figure it out...and hopefully I am ok with the exercises I am doing that it does not eventually go the opposite. Hopefully I can figure out when I can even everything out again and be able to do rows without the knots in my romboids or rear delts. I really want to get rid of the shoulder burning/tiring/fatique though and the rhomboids acting up having to put golf balls under there rolling around to get rid of the knots (also happens when I sit up straight with good posture for a certain amount of time).

I also have been thinking that my upper trapz may have not been the tight issue and it may have been my rhomboids because my upper trap tight feeling goes away after massaging the rhomboids. and I have to massage my levator scapula too

I would say you are really being over analytical. From what I have read and what I have experienced is that you get better at what you do. If you can't do the downward dog for long do it as long as you can until you get better at it.

If you are not flexible work on stretching only stretching can make you more flexible.

I don't know why you are getting knots after working muscles that seems extreme and not something I have heard of. I have heard of DOMS.... or overtraining but not knots developing immediately.

How long have you been training? What does your current routine look like?

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"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door"

Kyle Chandler

Full-ROM lifting makes you more flexible.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Stretching can help also ... especially at the end of your workout when you're muscles are still warm.

Ironically I think I have the exact same issue. its a pain in the butt and is really hard to explain. You explained to a T many of my symptoms. I have dealt with this fatigued, tight, tired feeling in these muscles for too long and it really affects my ability to row any weight at all and have always been very limited by it. I have one thing that helps me and I really can not tell you why. I just take a normal plastic water bottle like you buy at the gas station and frozen it, I put the frozen water bottle and stuck it up in my armpit a few times for a couple minutes each time on both sides. My thoughts are this helps to alleviate the overactive tight lats and allows me to stretch my rhomboids better. Give it a try.

any thoughts on this?

Full range of motion workout usually doesn't take you to where you're stretching. I don't know of a workout that may make you more flexible other then deadlifting.

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"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door"

Kyle Chandler

Full ROM working on the Overhead press can make a stiffer man more flexible/increase the range of motion and moveability. Okay yeah, usually you do some scapular wall slides or such if you are really that rigid, but I would say it can help too. That motion should still be good for the muscles.

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Prove the impossible!

[quote="CorlessJohnJFull range of motion workout usually doesn't take you to where you're stretching. I don't know of a workout that may make you more flexible other then deadlifting.[/quote]
Try the overhead squat. It does it all, shoulder girdle, posterior chain, hips, ankles, quads, and the list goes on