New to lifting, need advice on shoulder exercises

[EricF14]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to lifting and new to this site. I'm 38 and have just got serious, into weight lifting, about 3 months ago after reading "challenge Yourself at any age" by Clarance bass. To my supprise I have found that I actually enoy lifting wieghts.
I have run into a snag in that my left shoulder bothers me when doing an incline barbell press. I have lowered the weight I use. That leaves me feeling less satisfied with my routine but it's better than injuring myself and loosing the emotional momentum to improve. I think the problem is that my shoulder is too loose in the socket and I need to build up the stabalizing muscles. The question I have is what are the most effective exercises to improve shoulder stability?

Thanks!
-Eric.

[jaguarr]

Hi Eric,
Welcome to BB.com. Couple of thoughts. First, here's a link to a post that provides some information and links that you might find interesting on this topic:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...9&postcount=93

I've been doing the stretches talked about in those articles religiously with great success. And, many people are reporting great success with the rotator cuff rehab exercises (I have tendonitis in my shoulder, not a rotator cuff issue, so I haven't tried them).

The other thought I'll add is that I've moved to a completely dumbbell based routine. No more BB benches. I use DB's for flat bench, incline bench, flies, military press, etc. The sole BB bench movement I do is close grip bench. Doing so has also helped to eliminate pretty much all pain in my left shoulder. There's something about the barbell and benching for some folks that puts a great deal of strain on the shoulders. So, you might try switching up to dumbbells. If you find that you like that approach, you might also appreciate a pair of Powerhooks. I have a pair and love 'em. They've saved me a lot of wasted effort on getting DB's into place so I can focus on the lift at hand rather than trying not to kill myself getting the weights into the air.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,
jag

[EricF14]

Thanks for the info. I did see the broomstick stretch previously and added it to my 'daily' routine a few days ago.
The exercises from Dorian Kent are new to me and sound like what I need.

I try to split up my routine into 'daily' exercises and 'power' exercises. For 'daily' exercise I'm trying to get in the habit of doing all the warm up and cool down calethstenics and stretching that I should be doing before and after my weight sessions. Then on 'power' days I do that plus the weight routine I have planned for that day.

I think I need to write down my 'daily' plan the same way I do for the weights routine. To that end I'm going to make a commitment here to post my daily routine by next wednesday, in a different thread, that will force me to take it seriously and hopefully get some advice to make it more effective.

Thanks,
-Eric.

[DMD]

Sometimes I have some problems with my right shoulder. But, if I warm up completely with a few light sets before going heavy, it makes a big difference. Like Jaguarr, I also do a bit more DB work than BB. I don't do flat BB much anymore either.

[Rokk]

If your incline bench is at too high of an angle, (the dedicated incline benches usually are) it can bother your shoulders. 30 deg is as high as you need to go. And I agree dumbells give your pecs a better stretch and a more natural range of motion. I do bb at about 15-20 deg's and db at 30 deg's.

[EricF14]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I need to invest in some heavier dumbells. I only have a set of 5 and 10 lb dumbells I used for calesthenics.

The weight set I have is an olympic set, are there any dumbells that use the olympic size plates? I'm guessing that I'll need plates with a smaller hole for dumbells.

[OHIOSTEVE]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like I need to invest in some heavier dumbells. I only have a set of 5 and 10 lb dumbells I used for calesthenics.

The weight set I have is an olympic set, are there any dumbells that use the olympic size plates? I'm guessing that I'll need plates with a smaller hole for dumbells.

yes, I bought a set of olympic DB handles at walmart...they work fine. The issue usually is having enough plates to make TWO dumbells however.I bought a new/used set of plates from my buddy.

[EricF14]

That's encouraging. I was dreading the thought of having two set's of incompatable systems.

[gumbo32]

The other thought I'll add is that I've moved to a completely dumbbell based routine. No more BB benches. I use DB's for flat bench, incline bench, flies, military press, etc. The sole BB bench movement I do is close grip bench. Doing so has also helped to eliminate pretty much all pain in my left shoulder. There's something about the barbell and benching for some folks that puts a great deal of strain on the shoulders. So, you might try switching up to dumbbells.
Cheers,
jag

Jag's giving great advice here. I've suffered for about 14 yrs with continuous shoulder problems. I switched to dumbbells about 6 months ago, light at first, and it's really helped me out.

You may want to do the same with your flat benchpress. This can also cause problems if the weight is too much for your joints or your form is not right on.

[EricF14]

Well, I checked at the nearest wall-mart and several local sports stores but could not find any olympic size dumbell bars.

So I got a regular set.

I also paid a visit to my doctor to discuss my shoulder. He says the shoulder is a bit loose in the socket and that I should do some physical therepy to strengthen the supporting muscles before I go back to using heavy weights.

That's going to really threaten, psycologically, my momentum since the shoulder is involved in a lot of different exercises. Especially the big muscle group exercises that keep me motivated. But rather than get depressed about it maybe this can be an opportunity for me to learn some less used exercises.

Does anyone have suggestions on some multiple muscle exercises that don't stress the shoulder too much?

My scheduled routine for this week was:

Squats 85% / 12 reps / 2 sets
One Legged calf raise w/ dumbbell 85/12/2
Bent over row 85/12/2
Inclide DB Press 85/12/2
Upright DB Row 85/12/2
Hanging leg lifts --/16/2

Most of these put strain on the shoulder so I need to rethink my training plan for the next month or two until my shoulder is strong enough. I want to keep working on my back as much as possible.

Any suggestions?

[joed]

...I also paid a visit to my doctor to discuss my shoulder. He says the shoulder is a bit loose in the socket and that I should do some physical therepy to strengthen the supporting muscles before I go back to using heavy weights....Any suggestions?

IMO get an appointment with a PT like the doc said. That way you'll be able to target the specific muscles that need work.

[EricF14]

IMO get an appointment with a PT like the doc said. That way you'll be able to target the specific muscles that need work.

Yeah, already setup an appointment but earliest I could get in is next week.

I'm hoping to find some other kind of lifts I can do to keep my momentum going while I give my shoulder a rest. I've only been doing this for a few months so it would be really easy for me to fall back into the couch potato mode.

[pict]

we have academy sports & outdoors here, they usually have olympic dumbell handles. the manager of most sporting goods store will order them for you. it takes a few extra days to arrive, but the store picks up the shipping with their regular order.
if you're just starting out, a shoulder routine should focus on overhead pressing. just warmup (a lot). there are a bunch of variations both dumbell and barbell, so you can mix up your presses from one work out to the next.
lift heavy (for you) and in good form, keep adding weight, think about isolation exercises after about 6 months (i never isolation exercises).

[joed]

Eric: here's a good link with lots of examples of exercises:

http://www.ifafitness.com/wttrain/index.html