Squats and shoulders

[LucSulla]

I have screwed up something in the wonderful area that is the upper lat, neck, rear delt, trap on the right side. As any of you know who have dealt with this, it is kind of hard to track down exactly which is making everything else ache, but it sucks really bad. I've been trying to work through it for weeks, but it got so bad this week that my eyes would water while I was trying to loosen up in the mornings. Bench press tweaks it when I am moving the bar from the rack to over my chest right then; rows seem to make it hurt like hell the next day.

So my question is, given the area, could I still squat, or should I stop that for awhile? I would like to keep training squats while everything else gets good, but you do have to keep your shoulders and upper back tight.

 

[moya]

personally, i would at least try to squat... but that dosnt mean its 'right'...
i would do a little extra warmup, and ease into the heavy sets and if i run into problems, either drop weight or take time off...
you wont know until you try...

 

[SaiBoT]

What about front squats, have you tried them?

 

[LucSulla]

What about front squats, have you tried them?

Yeah. I don't have the wrist flexibility to grind out many rep with a traditional clean hold though. Crossing my arms hits whatever in the hell I pulled. I may experiment a bit more though.

 

[SaiBoT]

Yeah. I don't have the wrist flexibility to grind out many rep with a traditional clean hold though. Crossing my arms hits whatever in the hell I pulled. I may experiment a bit more though.

Louie Simmons uses a nice aparatus for this matter I think it's called safety squat bar, not sure about the name though.

 

[SouthernLord]

Squats can and will make this worse. Front squats too.

Back squats might even be the reason you're in this situation.

The only solution is Smith Machine Quarter squats.

lol!!!!!

Seriously. Look into Active Release Techniques (ART). If you are lucky you will find a practioner who works with athletes.

I would also invest in a foam roller and a tennis ball. Try to roll the knots out of your scap, lats, and traps.

I have a post in the section called "Possibly the best upperbody warm up ever" or something like that. It should help you out. Also check out the Diesel Crew stuff on YouTube.

 

[djeclipse]

Basically, if it hurts while you are squatting then don't do it. If it doesn;t hurt while squatting go ahead.

Try the ART and stay away form any movement that causes the pain for a while. When you do come back start with really light weight and work your way back up. I know it sucks but if you don't let it heal you'll be hurting for ever.

I've done something similar while banging on a last rep (PR) on over head press. I didn't keep everything tight while I was focusing on getting the weight up and pulled something in the same area. I couldn't even move my head that night, so much pain. A little rest and a trip to the chiro and luckily I was back in a few weeks.

Form is so crucial, especially when lifting heavy weight's. I got my Pr rep but it certainly wasn't worth the pain and time off. I should have just waited till next week to get that 5th rep.

 

[LucSulla]

Form is so crucial, especially when lifting heavy weight's. I got my Pr rep but it certainly wasn't worth the pain and time off. I should have just waited till next week to get that 5th rep.

I may have done this doing rack pulls weeks ago, but I think it was letting my form get sloppy while on BB rows - yanking at the top and such.

 

[ExtraMile]

Maybe if you cant back or front squat and you want to still hit some sort of squat work that doesnt need the shoulders to move much then maybe you could try zercher squats?

 

[Big_BK]

Go to a good massage therapist and get a deep tissue. They will be able to tell what is causing it. I have pretty much the same problem except on the left side and its an over use injury / imbalance from some tears i had in my hamstring. Rest it bro it is BITCH to heal.

 

[LucSulla]

Go to a good massage therapist and get a deep tissue. They will be able to tell what is causing it. I have pretty much the same problem except on the left side and its an over use injury / imbalance from some tears i had in my hamstring. Rest it bro it is BITCH to heal.

Hmmm...I get paid tomorrow. I may give this a shot.

 

[bblazer]

Squats can and will make this worse. Front squats too.

Back squats might even be the reason you're in this situation.

The only solution is Smith Machine Quarter squats.

lol!!!!!

Seriously. Look into Active Release Techniques (ART). If you are lucky you will find a practioner who works with athletes.

I would also invest in a foam roller and a tennis ball. Try to roll the knots out of your scap, lats, and traps.

I have a post in the section called "Possibly the best upperbody warm up ever" or something like that. It should help you out. Also check out the Diesel Crew stuff on YouTube.

ART makes me cry like a little girl.

B-

 

[fortunatesun]

Louie Simmons uses a nice aparatus for this matter I think it's called safety squat bar, not sure about the name though.

Yes, or buffalo bar.

There's also the Manta Ray - a little plastic device that you affix to the bar. It distributes the weight off your shoulders. Advisory is it turns into a high bar squat. The advantages are it costs >$40, much less than a bar, and you can easily carry it to the gym.

 

[Big_BK]

Yes, or buffalo bar.

There's also the Manta Ray - a little plastic device that you affix to the bar. It distributes the weight off your shoulders. Advisory is it turns into a high bar squat. The advantages are it costs >$40, much less than a bar, and you can easily carry it to the gym.

And look like a homo while squatting.

 

[LucSulla]

I just sat out another night. Wednesday I am going to give the squats a shot doing a 5 x 5 on weight I can handle pretty easily. After that I am going to do some light stuff just to get some blood moving through and hit the foam roller to try to work out some knots. I'll see how everything feels Thursday and move on. I'll probably do this at least for another week then start a dual factor program again with some very modest weights. Funny how I spent so much effort trying to work around my knee and ended up hurting something else worse. Live and learn!

 

[SaiBoT]

Yes, or buffalo bar.

There's also the Manta Ray - a little plastic device that you affix to the bar. It distributes the weight off your shoulders. Advisory is it turns into a high bar squat. The advantages are it costs >$40, much less than a bar, and you can easily carry it to the gym.

Actually yesterday i was this close to try the manta ray (strength coaches recommend it), went to this parisi isap gym for speed athletes, there was logs, sled, tires, farmer walk barbells, bands, chains, boxes etc etc etc, i felt like a kid inside a candy store, too bad I will only have access to it once a week, still better than nothing

 

[SouthernLord]

Actually yesterday i was this close to try the manta ray (strength coaches recommend it), went to this parisi isap gym for speed athletes, there was logs, sled, tires, farmer walk barbells, bands, chains, boxes etc etc etc, i felt like a kid inside a candy store, too bad I will only have access to it once a week, still better than nothing

Parisi is the shit at turning out world class athletes. Once a week sounds pretty damn good to me

 

[SaiBoT]

Parisi is the shit at turning out world class athletes. Once a week sounds pretty damn good to me

Yeah next week, I will go with two strongman exercises, farmer walk and tire flips, not sure if the weight I will use will be considered heavy lol.

 

[Jocques Straap]

I learned to squat with the manta ray. I've got nothing bad to say about it. Stops all complaints of the bar hurting. I haven't used one in a long time, no need to now. Better than the foam pads.

 

[fortunatesun]

And look like a homo while squatting.

It's the price one pays for being injured. Most rehabilitation tactics I've seen look awkward but what can you do?

 

[LucSulla]

It's the price one pays for being injured. Most rehabilitation tactics I've seen look awkward but what can you do?

Shrink even more

 

[LucSulla]

I found one of the knots tonight while using a foam roller. My roommate told me last week he could feel a huge knot just under my right shoulder blade towards my spine. I guess it is either the lat or rhomboid. Well, I hit the foam roller after my workout, got to that spot of my back and yelled, "Mama!" across the gym. My back feels much, much loser now

 

[bblazer]

To really get at it, you might want to try a version of the foam roller that is actually 4" PVC pipe wrapped in 1/2" of foam rubber. Essentially they have no give, and will make you cry like you just got kicked in the nuts with spike heels.

You can get them here.