Recovery after major shoulder repair

[fittofattofit]

Way to go!!!!!!

26th November 2010

13 weeks 3 day post-op

166lbs

legs

BB Squats
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
8 x 80kg (176lbs)
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
4, 4, 4, 4, 4 x 110kg (242lbs)
Slow count of 3 going down, ATG, then up
6 x 100kg (220lbs)

Glute Hamstring Raises 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Leg extensions
8, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 70kg (154lbs)

Leg press Calf raise
140kg (308lbs) Rest-pause set 10, 1, 4, 2 tempo for 12 reps


pull-ups BW x 8, 6

60 minutes

Good workout. Slower this time , thinking about form, so fewer reps. Legs are burning though!!

Bumped pic from last week

Getting leaner, but no chest!!

[fittofattofit]

27th November 2010

13 weeks 4 days post-op

168lbs

Deads/Chest/arms

Deadlifts
6 x 60kg (132lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
1 x 140kg (308lbs)
1 x 160kg (352lbs)

3, 3, 3, 3 x140kg (308lbs)
Tried a 2nd 160kg and wasn't in the zone - still lifting from the hip first!

BOBB row
10, 10, 10, 10 x 50kg (110lbs) light weight but pulled from the scaps


Smith machine incline bench
10, 8, 8, 6, 6 x 40kg (88lbs)

Smith machine CG flat bench
8, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 40kg (88lbs)

Seated row
7, 7, 6, 6, 5 x 70kg (154lbs) really squeezed the scaps at the end

Right arm standing cable curls
10, 10, 8, 8, 8 x 20lb

75 minutes

Leisurely pace this morning - deads and then concentrating on form

[fittofattofit]

28th November 2010

13 weeks 5 days post-op

169lbs

RPM/cycle

Pull-ups BW x 8, 6, 6, 5, 5 really slow

RPM/cycle class 45 minutes

EZ bar curls
10, 10, 8, 8, 8 x 30kg (66lbs)

Pushed it hard on the cycling today - shorter session so cranked up the resistance - legs are trashed now!

[fittofattofit]

30th November 2010

14 weeks post-op

169lb highest weight since 2nd op

Deads/Back

Deadlifts
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
8 x 100kg (220lbs)
5, 3, 3, 3, 3 x 140kg (308lbs)

Seated rows
8, 7, 7, 7, 6 x 75kg (165lbs)

Wide-grip Pull-downs
7, 7, 7, 6, 5 x 75kg (165lbs)

EZ bar BO rows
10, 10, 10, 10 x 40kg (88lbs) - pulling from the scaps

DB lat raises 12 x 7.5kg (18lbs) each side

Roman chair sit-ups 12, 12, 12

60 minutes

140kg deads felt good - I think that I'll concentrate on this weight and increasing the reps while maintaining form - I'll try to get up to a strict set of 10 before upping the weight

[ronin_ts]

28th November 2010

13 weeks 5 days post-op

169lbs

RPM/cycle

Pull-ups BW x 8, 6, 6, 5, 5 really slow

RPM/cycle class 45 minutes

EZ bar curls
10, 10, 8, 8, 8 x 30kg (66lbs)

Pushed it hard on the cycling today - shorter session so cranked up the resistance - legs are trashed now!

You do RPM or SPIN? I love those classes..I do them on my cardio days on weekends...nossle all the way up for an hour..feels good

[fittofattofit]

You do RPM or SPIN? I love those classes..I do them on my cardio days on weekends...nossle all the way up for an hour..feels good

yep - I love the RPM class - basically lots of intervals and my usual class is a 60 minute one.
My only real cardio for the week and I finish drenched in sweat!
I also crank up the resistance, so it's also a good leg workout - kills my deads if I do them the next day though!

[fittofattofit]

1st December 2010

134 weeks 1 day post-op

167lb

Chest/arms

CGBP
8, 8, 7, 7, 7 x 60kg (132lbs)

Medium grip BP
5, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 70kg (154lbs)

standing EZ bar curls
10, 10, 10, 8, 8 x 30kg (66lb) felt easy!

dumbbell preacher curls
Right arm 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 15kg (33lb) strict.

Pull-ups BW x 8

Roman chair sit-ups 12, 12, 12

60 minutes

Slow and controlled today - chest felt good. Starting to get some mass in the right biceps (at long last)

[fittofattofit]

2nd December 2010

14 weeks 2 day post-op

168lbs

PT session

pulley press 60 x 12, 70 x 12, 80 x 12 each side
pulley rotations 80 x 12, 12, 12 each side
Single leg squats 12, 12, 12 each leg
single leg SLDL 12, 12 each side
Single arm pull down 60 x 12, 60 x 12, 60 x 12 each arm

30 minutes

Body weight is getting up again and I'm staying leaner - about 12% I think - I still want to get to 10% and re-assess - maybe after Xmas!

The lighting's flat, but I have plenty of definition and vascularity that's not really obvious in this pic!

[fittofattofit]

3rd December 2010

14 weeks 3 day post-op

167lbs

legs

BB Squats
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
8 x 80kg (176lbs)
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
6, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 100kg (220lbs)
Slow count of 3 going down, ATG, then up - concentrating on form

Glute Hamstring Raises 8, 8, 7, 7, 7

Leg extensions
8, 8, 8, 8, 8 x 70kg (154lbs)

Smith Machine Calf raise
80kg (176lbs) Rest-pause set 10, 1, 4, 2 tempo for 12 reps


pull-ups BW x 8

Swiss ball crunchies

60 minutes

Good workout. Legs are burning.

[fittofattofit]

4th December 2010

14 weeks 4 days post-op

167lbs

Deads/Chest/arms

Deadlifts
6 x 60kg (132lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
1 x 140kg (308lbs)
1, 1, 1, 1 x 160kg (352lbs)
5, 4 x140kg (308lbs)
160kg x 4 singles wasn't too hard - concentrating on form and pushing through the heels

Seated row
8, 7, 7 x 77.5kg (170lbs) pulled from the scaps

Medium grip bench press
6, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 70kg (154lbs) felt pretty easy - slow and controlled

standing EZ bar curls
7, 7, 6, 6, 6 x 35kg (77lbs)

65 minutes

Over 30 degrees celcius in the gym this morning - deads left me drenched in sweat. Good workout though. No training tomorrow - mum's 70th Birthday at our house!!

Pics after training (2 litres of fluid onboard - looking waterlogged!)

[fittofattofit]

Cricket - Test Match
England vs Australia
2nd Day
Adelaide Oval

Went to the test at Adelaide Oval after training.
Great new members' stand.
Got drinking with my brother so had well over my quota of carbs for the day - beers x 5, hotdogs, chips and steak sandwich!
Pity about the cricket though - the Poms are slaying us!

[fittofattofit]

6th December 2010

14 weeks 6 days post-op

170lb - heaviest since the 2nd op - still 12-13%

Chest/arms

Medium grip BP
8 x 60kg (132lbs)
7, 6, 5, 5, 5 x 70kg (154lbs)
3 x 75kg (165lbs)
2 x 80kg (176lbs)
Really felt good pushing this - squeezed my scaps together and could feel how stable my chest was. This was slow and controlled. I used to rep 100kg x 8, but without my scaps retracted, so was pushing with my tris and shoulders. This felt totally different - 30 years of benching incorrectly and it's stuffed my shoulders! If I knew how to lift properly beforehand I would have got much higher lifts on my bench when I still had good shoulders!

Smith Machine Incline bench press
8 x 30kg (66lbs)
6, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 50kg (110lbs)

standing EZ bar curls
8, 7, 6, 5, 5 x 35kg (77lb)

standing dumbbell incline curls
Right arm
8, 6 x 15kg (33lbs)
7, 6, 6, 6 x 12.5kg (28lb) strict.

Push-ups from low bar 10, 7, 5, 5

Pull-ups BW x 6, 5

Roman chair sit-ups 12, 12, 12

60 minutes

Chest and arms felt pumped - starting to get some size back in my right arm and shoulder

[fittofattofit]

MRI report
Left Shoulder
23-11-10

To summarize:
I had an op on my left shoulder in February - infraspinatus and supraspinatus tears repaired plus acromioplasty, excision head of clavicle etc.

Have had good recovery of strength and size, but no external rotation at all - means I can't even press a 5lb dumbbell because I can't control it.

Had an MRI last week.
Here is the report:



I had an op on the right shoulder in August - subscapularis repair and biceps tenodesis - but have had a good recovery from that so far - still regaining muscle mass, but a full range of movement.

Surgeon has suggested to 'leave it' or has suggested maybe use LARS repair (artificial tendon)
Any thoughts or comments?

[ronin_ts]

have you gone to physiotherapy? they might be able to help you...activate the muscles around the subscap/intraspinatus etc etc....alleviating pain from the rotator cuff

[fittofattofit]

have you gone to physiotherapy? they might be able to help you...activate the muscles around the subscap/intraspinatus etc etc....alleviating pain from the rotator cuff

Thanks!
I've been seeing a physio, but there is very little pain, just limitation of movement - the problem is that the four muscles of the Rotator cuff - infraspinatus, supraspinatus and Teres Minor are all torn or non-functional. They act to hold the humeral head in-place, so with 3 tendons ruptured and one "atrophied", physio will not help stability.
It's only my deltoids and Teres Major that are keeping the humerus connected with the scapula, otherwise my 'arm would fall off'!

I've got good deltoid mass on the left, because I've been using it to stabilise the shoulder joint, but if I don't get the joint structurally stable I will risk a lot of bony/cartilage damage or a shoulder dislocation sooner rather than later!

[fittofattofit]

8th December 2010

15 weeks 1 day post-op

169lbs

legs

BB Squats
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
8 x 80kg (176lbs)
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
5, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 100kg (220lbs)
Slow - trying to get the form right - got another video for criticism. 1st rep felt uncomfortable, but felt that I was breaking from the hip better on the last 4 reps!
[youtube]waiting for youtube[ /youtube]


Glute Hamstring Raises 7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Leg extensions
8, 8, 8, 8 x 70kg (154lbs)

Swiss ball crunchies

60 minutes

Good workout - concentrating on form. Quads and glutes are burning.

[low blow]

Thanks!
I've been seeing a physio, but there is very little pain, just limitation of movement - the problem is that the four muscles of the Rotator cuff - infraspinatus, supraspinatus and Teres Minor are all torn or non-functional. They act to hold the humeral head in-place, so with 3 tendons ruptured and one "atrophied", physio will not help stability.
It's only my deltoids and Teres Major that are keeping the humerus connected with the scapula, otherwise my 'arm would fall off'!

I've got good deltoid mass on the left, because I've been using it to stabilise the shoulder joint, but if I don't get the joint structurally stable I will risk a lot of bony/cartilage damage or a shoulder dislocation sooner rather than later!

extreme long shot would be a course of PRP injections if you can find anybody willing to take you for that - though with the degree and location of your tears I don't think their is any real available treatment. Also you'll probably need to get the surgery done but, if the PRP injections do help, will greatly minimize the work done.

I know a doctor in Sydney you can try if you're interested

[ScottishMark]

Kudos to you for working around the injuries.

Good to see you're still doing work. Keep it up.

[fittofattofit]

extreme long shot would be a course of PRP injections if you can find anybody willing to take you for that - though with the degree and location of your tears I don't think their is any real available treatment. Also you'll probably need to get the surgery done but, if the PRP injections do help, will greatly minimize the work done.

I know a doctor in Sydney you can try if you're interested

Thanks for that. I'd certainly consider it, although with the MRI reporting "full thickness complete tears of infraspinatus and supraspinatus with as much as 3cm of medial retraction", I suspect that the gap may be too wide to bridge for those tendons. It may help healing of subscapularis though and the labrum, which will need repairing.

Kudos to you for working around the injuries.

Good to see you're still doing work. Keep it up.

Thanks
If I didn't work around the injuries I'd never train!
I'll keep training up to when I have another operation - probably early next year with LARS (artificial tendon repair) for supra and infra and repairs for subscapularis and LH biceps and labrum - have to discuss it with my surgeon, who may not do this and might have to refer me on I will also consider PRP (platelet rich plasma) if that can add any healing potential

[fittofattofit]

9th December 2010

15 weeks 2 day post-op

169lbs

PT session

pulley press 60 x 12, 12, 12 each side
one-legged dumbbell row to activate core and accessory muscles
33lb x 12, 12, 12, 12 each side
Single leg squats 12, 12, 12, 12 each leg
overhead bar squats bar x 12, 12, 12
Kettle bell single-arm cleans 27.5lbs x 12, 12, 12 each arm

30 minutes

Yesterday's squats at last!
Slow - trying to get the form right - got another video for criticism. 1st rep felt uncomfortable, but felt that I was breaking from the hip better on the last 4 reps!

[fittofattofit]

10th December 2010

15 weeks 3 days post-op

168lb about 12% IMO

Chest/arms

Medium grip BP
8 x 60kg (132lbs)
5, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 70kg (154lbs)
3, 3, 3 x 80kg (176lbs)
1 x 85kg (187lbs)
1 x 90kg (198lbs) PR after this operation

Really felt stable - slow and controlled.

standing EZ bar curls
6, 6, 6, 5, 5 x 35kg (77lb)

Push-ups from low bar 12, 8, 5, 5, 4

Pull-ups BW x 6, 5, 5

Roman chair sit-ups 12, 12, 12

60 minutes

Saw a friend at the gym who I hadn't seen since the op who said that I'd regained my condition quickly and was looking good!

[ScottishMark]

Saw a friend at the gym who I hadn't seen since the op who said that I'd regained my condition quickly and was looking good!

Bet that made you day, always a nice confidence boost.

[fittofattofit]

Bet that made you day, always a nice confidence boost.

Yep , and he's probably the best built guy in the gym (not saying a lot there!) - not the biggest, but lean with good balanced mass.
It's always nice for someone to acknowledge your 'work'

[fittofattofit]

11th December 2010

15 weeks 4 days post-op

168lbs

Deads/Back

Deadlifts
8 x 60kg (132lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
3 x 140kg (308lbs)
1, 1 x 160kg (352lbs)
3, 2, 3, 2 x 140kg (308lbs)
Grip felt weak today - hands were sweaty! 140kg felt easy but grip failed!

Seated row
8, 7, 7, 7, 6 x 80kg (176lbs)

Lat pull-downs
6, 5, 5, 7, 6 x 75kg (165lbs) - slow and controlled

standing hammer curls Right arm
8, 7, 6, 6, 6 x 12.5kg (28lbs)

EZ bar BO Rows
12, 12, 12 x 30kg (66lbs) Squeezing scaps - concentrating on form

65 minutes

'Sticky' in the gym this morning - didn't quite have the energy I expected - started off thinking I would deadlift 170kg again today, but gave that one a miss when the 160s felt heavy. Rows and pull-downs felt good and controlled

[fittofattofit]

12th December 2010

15 weeks 5 days post-op

167lbs

RPM/cycle

Pull-ups BW x 8, 8, 7, 5, 5 really slow

Medium grip BP
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
5 x 70kg (154lbs)
3 x 80kg (176lbs)

RPM/cycle class 60 minutes

Pushed it hard on the cycling today - need to get fit for skiing 4 weeks time!

Pics after RPM today

Still no chest

Lats and traps are taking over though!

[fittofattofit]

13th December 2010

15 weeks 6 days post-op

168lb

Chest/arms

Medium grip BP
8 x 60kg (132lbs)
6, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 70kg (154lbs)
[b]2 x 80kg (176lbs)

Hammer bench press
8, 8, 7, 6, 5 x 50kg (110lbs)

standing EZ bar curls
5, 5, 5, 5, 5 x 40kg (88lb)
Heaviest EZ bar curls since operation - swinging the weight a little bit but was reasonably controlled

standing dumbbell hammer curls
Right arm
8, 8, 8, 7, 6 x 15kg (33lbs)

Triceps Extensions - rope
8, 7, 5, 5, 5 x 110lbs

Pull-ups BW x 6, 5

Roman chair sit-ups 12, 12, 12

60 minutes

Chest and arms felt pumped - looking very vascular

[ronin_ts]

kinda jealous ur leaner then me haha.looks like post-op your recovery is going well..

what do you feel has changed the most in training?

[fittofattofit]

kinda jealous ur leaner then me haha.looks like post-op your recovery is going well..

what do you feel has changed the most in training?

Thanks for dropping in!
As lean as you? - I wish!
Coming back from injury I've had to retrain myself and have focussed on stabilising my shoulders all the time - my left shoulder has recovered all of its mass without any direct shoulder work. Also, I've learned as well to fix the scaps and pull through the lats when rowing - this has relieved tension on the biceps and helped me thicken my back. And I love deadlifting!
One thing I can't do is bench with a wide grip, so CGBP or medium grip is the best I can do, and definitely no dumbbells!

[fittofattofit]

Sick for the last two days - sore throat, wheeze etc, but lots to do at work.
Missed two days training - very unusual for me - good for me though, I'm sure I can do with the rest!

[fittofattofit]

16th December 2010

16 weeks 2 day post-op

164lbs (lost weight - sick the last few days - hopefully water and glycogen!)

PT session

pulley press 70 x 12, 70 x 12, 60 x 12 each side
one-legged dumbbell row to activate core and accessory muscles
39lb x 12, 24, 21, 21 each side - glutes++
Single leg squats 12, 12, 12, 12 each leg
overhead bar squats bar x 12, 12, 12
Kettle bell single-arm cleans 27.5lbs x 12, 12, 12 each arm

30 minutes


Still feeling a bit flushed, but will be up for deads or squats tomorrow!