Admit it, you’re beat up. You have nagging muscle and joint injuries. And your shoulders — well just let’s say lifting anything overhead might as well be like getting a tooth pulled.
Spend any appreciable amount of time under the bar, or on the athletic field and it’s pretty much inevitable you will walk away with minor to serious joint/soft tissue pain.
The lucky ones walk away without surgery and can continue to train with some modifications and rest. The not so lucky (I’m part of the not so lucky crowd) get to have surgery to repair what rest and copious amounts of Tiger Balm can’t.
I like optimism like I like my whiskey — strong and not watered down. And in the spirit of refusing to be the harbinger of bad news, I’m not here to tell you about your limitations. I’m going to tell you about ways to train around them. In this multi part blog, I’ll start from the top of the body addressing some of the more common injuries while listing a few movements for the non-injured areas you can do to keep training momentum on your side.
I’d be remiss not to tell you to consult with your physician about exercise readiness after any injury or surgery. Working through pain is just not smart and will put you back on the shelf quick.
Why Not Just Rest?
Rest can be beneficial, for certain nagging pains. Sprains, strains, pulls, and other mild inflammation are in that bucket and usually time away from training was probably much needed anyway. These are part of the iron game.
Fractures, breaks, tears, or spinal trauma require more than just rest. Atrophy, loss of ROM, decreased force production are real possibilities. And, if you’re a competitive athlete who needs to get back on the field soon, or someone that has serious goals to reach, the long term rest can set you back. Here’s how training my clients creatively comes in handy. Listing the specific needs of each injury is beyond the scope of this article. Instead here is a list of training benefits while injured:
Increased blood flow to injured parts potentially speeding healing
Continued training effect and gains
Potential reduction in depressed moods
The opportunity to try new exercise modalities and equipment
Irradiation effect (recruitment of a muscle helping to engage other muscles) may also help with atrophy and injured muscle recruitment. This means contracting your legs forcefully can make other muscles in the body contract as well. Hey, scoff all you want it’s something dammit!
Now, On To the Good Stuff…
Note that I prefer the use of compound movements to get the most bang for the buck, however, “isolation” exercises can work too to provide a training effect.
Please, don’t be a bonehead and neglect consulting with your physician about exercise readiness or any contraindications. Exercises should be stopped with the presence of pain.
SHOULDER REGION/UPPER LIMB INJURIES
Sport injuries, faulty/dysfunctional shoulder mechanics and overuse make this area a doozy for lifters and athletes. It’s only fitting that we start there to find training alternatives. Keep in mind that the trunk and hips are vital to shoulder control so when shoulder ROM is limited, we’ll look to work those parts to remain in the game. These can all be modified to be done with or without using hands if they are injured.
Movements/Exercises:
Farmer’s carries, sled pulls; sled walks w/belt or straps: These can work the core and legs with very minimal upper limb usage along with boosting overall body strength and functionality.
Lunge/squat variations with weights down to the side: You get full ROM with lower half and minimal shoulder system usage.
Hands-free safety bar squat: If you have access to a safety squat bar, you don’t even need to touch the barbell.
Hinges, such as deadlifts, RDL’S, pull-thrus, glute ham raises: These work the hip region, and posterior chain while potentially aiding with upper body healing and recovery.
Back extensions: Builds hamstring and lower back strength/musculature.
Rowing with bands or cables (seated or standing): Works back musculature, generally in favorable shoulder motion provided shoulder blades are working in protraction/retraction.
Paloff presses, lying leg raises, deadbugs: These exercises promote anti- rotation and have minimal shoulder joint load or movement.
Avoid:
Behind the neck pull downs/pull up variations.
Use your better judgement — if it doesn’t feel right don’t do it! Not all of these movements are guaranteed methods to train around pain, but are sound options to maintain a training effect while avoiding binge watching all Netflix has to offer.
Stay tuned for part two — we’ll address acquiring gainz with back and lower body injuries.