Getting back into the swing of things after Anterior Shoulder Instability...

[dbankes]

Hello,

I dislocated my L shoulder in January and because of it, I have anterior instability, i.e., my shoulder constantly feels like it wants to dislocate and it pops/ grinds. I've been going to PT and doing RC exercises and light dumbbell work to help strengthen my scapular stabilizers, RCs, and delts. The symptoms are subsiding and I feel as though I'm a few weeks away from getting back to lifting (but of course, I'll get my doc's approval before I hit the weights again).

Currently, my stability is improving, but I'm concerned about blasting my shoulders with heavy, low rep overhead DB presses. I actually dislocated my other shoulder 2 years ago, and lifting heavy (1 year after rehab!) undid the rehab, leading to instability (I also went to PT for my R shoulder and strengthened it up). Given my history of joint laxity, I just don't know if my shoulders can really take heavy weights. I was hoping to get around this by trying to incorporate light and moderate weights into my regimen. Obviously I'll need to figure out how to make this as intense as possible, and hopefully thats where you all can help!

So I want to know, can I get away with (at least for awhile, hopefully 4 weeks) low rep training (12-20 reps) and really make a good workout with it? If so, how can I make it as intense as possible? Has anyone had success with low rep training? Also, can the shoulder press machine serve as a suitable exchange exercise for the DB press (again, at least until my shoulders feel 100% ready)?

I figured as a way to ease back into lifting yet still trying to promote growth,I'd hit shoulder's 2ce a week with something like this:

Shoulder Press Machine 2x12-20
Side Raises 2X12-20
Front Raises 2x12-20
Rear Delt Flys 2x12-20
Then work in quads/ glutes/ abs or whatever to round out my time....

Should I just up the sets to 3/ exercise and screw doing a 2x/ wk regimen?

Thanks a million!