As most of my newsletter subscribers know (see Muscle Building Tips or Six Pack Abs Revealed, I had a nice long layoff due to some injuries.
And while I hopped back into training a few weeks ago, it’s all been an experiment because my rotator cuff is still not healed. So, I have to get creative and work around it so I can get back into shape!
While some injuries will force you into complete rest (such as a knee AND shoulder injury at the same time), with other injuries you can get creative and still stay in shape or even continue to make progress in the gym!
Shoulders and the rotator cuff can be tricky. A number of years ago I had a rotator cuff injury. At the time I was playing a lot of tennis. With the injury I could go out and pound ground strokes for hours. But I couldn’t even hit one soft serve because the pain in the shoulder was so severe when I tried.
So how am I training with my shoulder? Well my main goal right now is to get my conditioning back for martial arts, shed some fat and start building a strength base to build on for when my shoulder is completely healed.
I can’t do shoulder work, or bench work, no dips and no rows. I can do push ups if I keep my elbows tucked in at my sides. So far, for high reps at least, I can do deadlifts without pain so I’m keeping my sets to at least 20 reps.
Obviously I can do leg work so squats are fine. I can also do kettlebell swings and cleans with not pain (but no snatches or presses).
I can curl but I can’t do tricep exercises (even pushdowns with any appreciable weight bothers the shoulder).
I can do high rep (12 or more) close grip curl grip pulldowns but I can’t do any pulldowns with my palm facing away from me. Just reaching up for the bar that way hurts the shoulder.
So my training right now consists of the following (not necessarily all in the same workout):
- Barbell Squats
- Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlifts
- Barbell Lunges
- Deadlifts
- Curl Grip Pulldowns
- Incline Dumbbell Curls
- Push Ups
- Kettlebell Swings
- Kettlebell Cleans
High Intensity Interval Training Using Sprints or a Variety of Bodyweight Exercises like:
- Burbees (without the push ups as they do hurt when trying to do them quickly as part of a Burpee, go figure)
- Mountain Climbers
- Bodyweight Squats
- Jump Squats
- Lunges
- Jump Lunges
- Side Hops
- Hip Extensions
- And more
You’ve got to be careful and always check with your doctor but with some experimenting, it’s possible to work around certain injuries and keep your fitness training (and momentum) moving forward.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think. I’m giving away free fitness info when you hit 3, 10, 20 and 50 comments on the site.
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That’s great that your still working out with injuries! So many people use it as an excuse!