Hey guys!!! How was everyone’s week? We made it to Friday! I want to write a blog about my week of workouts since they were pretty modified due to my shoulder issue…and talk more on that as well (what happened, how it happened, etc. etc.).
SO first I will go over my shoulder. It started the last Sunday in February after I did the Crossfit 17.1 workout which was a TON of DB snatches. I typically love DB snatches – great full body utilization and shoulder exercise, however, if you are doing tons of reps which this workout had 150 total (75 per arm), you are bound to get fatigued and let form slip. Which is probably what happened. It also had 15 burpee box jump overs in between the sets of snatches. I did regular burpees though (so again, you are going to get really tired with all of this). AND NOT TO MENTION before I even did this workout, I did ROW SPRINTS of 1000-800-600-400-200 meter rows – more shoulder work. So I just overdid it.
I did not feel the issue until about two days later (maybe one day) but it was super slight. Just a slight tightness in my rhomboid. So I did rest it a little for a few days…but not quite enough. Wednesday of last week I decided to try a higher rep back day (so lighter weight, essentially) and that’s when I really pulled it. I started with lat pulldowns – big mistake. Shortly into my set I could feel it pulling pretty badly…I pushed through (another mistake) so by the end of it I was not feeling good. I even did 2 more sets after that (am I dumb? YES lol). Needless to say, at this point it was hurting to breathe – LITERALLY COULDN’T BREATHE WELL WITHOUT PAIN – so that meant intercostal pulls too (muscles around ribcage which assist with breathing). I decided OK I am not going to let this ruin my workout…so I went and did the following and it worked fine for the time being:
- 1/2 mile run
- 50 air squats
I did that 5 times through nonstop. And then I tried to do pistol squats – managed to do about 15 per leg and then I tried to add a KB for some weight and I couldn’t even hold the 15# KB without pain in my back/shoulder/rhomboid/intercostals/etc. So at this point I stretched…did a set of clamshells and went home. Y’all it was hurting so bad I was crying. 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10. I couldn’t even dress myself…because of the pain. Severe pain. I took 3 aleve and had to pull myself together to go back to the gym to train because I had numerous clients that morning.
Got myself together and took it slow and made it to the gym. A fellow male trainer asked if I wanted him to roll out my back/shoulder using these AWESOME tempering rods invented and used by Donnie Thompson on athletes and powerlifters – it’s basically trigger point type therapy – uses really heavy steel rods to put pressure on the muscles and you feel amazing after. So my friend used that on my back and it was definitely painful during the experience but afterwards it was instant relief and I was able to make it through the rest of the day.
So, a week and a half later we are here. It’s Friday the 17th and next Wednesday will mark the 2 week point on my injury. Other good news is it’s feeling better but I still have that pain in my rhomboid. I have a massage appointment scheduled for 1:30 and the lady here that does the massages (at the gym) really knows her stuff and muscles…she’s good. So she will be able to help me for sure.
OTHER FUN NEWS is I was able to chat with an ortho surgeon this AM since he trains here and he checked out my shoulder. No issues with the joint at all – it’s just trigger points in my rhomboid that need to be worked out. He told me to keep using it and use lots of ice directly on the skin (which I am doing 2x a day or as often as I can). It was great to hear him say I should keep using it. So after spin class today I immediately went and did external rotation exercises and some light DB presses (which felt AMAZING – YAY).
What have I learned from this experience? I am not a fan of super high reps that involve any joint really, but specifically the shoulder. The shoulder is SO complex and has so many delicate muscles involved with the rotator cuff…so people have got to be careful and include accessory work like internal and external rotation exercises and mobility. I will not ever be doing that many snatches again. I want to be as fit and healthy as possible, but, SAFELY – and not causing strain on my joints. #lessonlearned
SO what did I do this week gymwise? Many people would just throw in the towel and not do anything, which is so stupid. I don’t ever want to get out of shape or lose any of the hard work I have put in thus far so I managed to mix it up great this week. Started going back to spin classes which I am obsessed with because they get your heart rate up so high and it’s no impact and a great workout for your legs, glutes and core.
SUNDAY: intense RPM class, 45 mins
MONDAY: walk incline for 30 mins – 8.5-11 incline at 3.9-4.1 speed including sets of 100 walking lunges and crab walks (get in deep squat and walk sideways on treadmill each leg, 20-25 reps)
TUESDAY: same as Monday – walk walk walking
WEDNESDAY: LOWER BODY AND 45 MIN RPM CLASS!
- 9 sets leg press 10-15 reps, 4-6 plates
- 4 sets walking lunges with the 30# DBs (lighter for me)
- 5×12 sumo squats w lighter DB for me ~55#
- jump squats- 3×12
- Ham curls – 6 sets 8-12
- Leg extensions – 6 sets 10-15
- 4×12 butt blaster
- 5×15 cable glute extension
- 3×15 cable leg abduction angled diagonally back
- 50# weighted frog pumps – 50+ reps
- clamshells
- seated band abduction
- banded sumo walks
THURSDAY: Walk incline 9-10.0 at faster pace (3.8-4.1) 45 mins; 50# weighted frog pumps 2×50 reps; 1×30 seated band abduction; 1×30 each leg clamshells
FRIDAY: spin class, 45 mins; shoulder work: external rotation and light DB presses
SATURDAY: I will do lower body again and perhaps some upper body – light shoulder and arms..and probably walk incline for 30-40
SUNDAY: RPM class again – 45 mins
SO I write all of this to say that if you have an injury, don’t stress. You can work around it. I wanted to run but realized that I could not hold my arm in the running position too long because it strained my rhomboid muscle. So I walked – a lot. Spin class pulled on it just a little but not bad enough for me not to go! I had to get some kind of killer workout in.
I HAVE been taking this very seriously and icing daily, which is crucial. Don’t ever work THROUGH pain. Muscle burning from being tired is different than pain – so be sure to distinguish the two. And take care of your shoulders. Don’t neglect doing mobility and external and internal rotation work with either bands or cable machine. Those are the accessory work – comparable to the clamshells and band work I do on my legs constantly! We have to include those exercises along with lifting weights in order to stay healthy.
SO that’s it for this week! I plan to ice and really recover this weekend and hopefully be back to everything full force by the end of next week! I SO miss lifting heavy! But I am going to take it slow at first…which is so hard for me to do.
Happy Weekend!
xoxo,
Kelly
PS – try out my recipes from this week! Lettuce wrap pulled pork tacos ! Pics below! Plus salmon, of course, which we have weekly. And if you haven’t yet, you have to try my overnight oat recipe. Try adding egg whites too! (you can eat those raw!)
Kelly Hayman Fitness 