Shoulder Pain

I previosly had some shoulder pain awhile back that was thought to be a labral tear in my left shoulder. I had an MRI done and it was just inflammed. I was given some rotator cuff excersises to do and told to take a week off as well as stay off the rings and barbell bench press for a liitle while. The pain for the most part went away after doing what the doctor ordered. Once I began Gymnastic Strength Training™ coupled with crossfit a few months ago and dropped the body builing split, I had no pain at all. I felt great. But last week my left shoulder started hurting again.

The pain this time is weird. It only hurts when my shoulder is cold and not loosened up. I.E. the first set of tuck planche can hurt a little bit but then its fine. Also, hand stands and HeSPUs don't hurt at all. I watched slizzardmans video on shoulder pain and began doing some of his recommended stretches as well as constantly working on my posture all day long. My question is, should I just really focus on some shoulder mobilization to loosen up in my warmup along with add some rotator cuff excercises, or should I be alarmed? I really want to start working very hard on the planche. This is probably the hardest on the shoulder so I was wondering if any one had some advice. Thanks in advance!!

My advice is to focus on the shoulder prehab and replace planche work with working to achieve 3x60 sec in an L-sit.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thanks alot coach! I really want this to go away. I have been very patient and doing all the progressions for everything properly and still managed to get this flare up. I do think it has alot to do with some of the weight lifting in the crossfit workouts.

I am going to begin doing the rotator cuff exercises I used to do, slizzardman's stretches and Ido's shoudler routines for warmups. Does this sound good or do you recommend something else?

Also, I understand the logic behind requiring 3x60s L-sit before beginning PL work and telling me to take time off of working PL (in my case to allow my shoulder to recover); however, the 3x60s L-sit prepares the core no doubt but does nothing for the upperbody. This move, as you know, requires a great deal of specific upperbody strength. It seems that if I don't work the upperbody for planche I will never get it. How is the 3x60s L-sit going to prepare my upperbody for planche? Should I continue working PL leans and PPP or hault all PL work until the shoulder is better and I get 3x60s L-sit? Thank you for your time!

P.S. Getting the book for Christmas! Can't wait!!

L-sit requires a lot of upper body strength! Try doing 30sec L hold on the rings (with good form) and tell me it doesn't :-). A coach of mine told me to think of pushing your hips forward while keeping your legs parallel to the floor. I found this forces you to engage your lats, triceps and upper back (all of which are essential for a planche) much more.

I've had two labrum surgeries (~2 years ago) and have been fighting off a teres major tear for the past 9-10 months. All of which were due to gaps in basic strength preparation. It takes me 15-30min of stretching and various rehab exercises to get my them ready for a workout. From my experience, bungee exercises are the name of the warming up game.

Take your time, especially if your not a competitive athlete. There is NO reason to be training something that causes serious pain if its just for recreation. Trust me, shoulder problems suck. The past couple years since my surgeries I've learned that a patient, no-rush, "don't be a hero" attitude pays off in the long run.

Thanks alot man! I appreciate your advice and sorry to hear about all your shoulder problems. I know what you mean about the L-sit, it is very demanding on the upperbody; however, I thought I had a pretty strong upper body until I started working the PL and the load on the front deltoids and upperchest is way harder than I thought. It seems like the only way to get the balance and the specific upper body strength is to work these muscles in that forward angle. For instance, I can't see how you would need 3x60s L-sit to work psuedo planche pushups.

1. So what I was questioning was if I should continue to work on things like the PPP and PL lean while I am working up to 3x60s L-sit, or quit all PL preparation until the shoulder feels better and I have 3x60s L-sit?

2. If I am understanding correctly I think this is what you are saying: Hault all planche work and and rehab/prehab the shoulder and use this time to achieve 3x60s L-sit; therefore, when I get to 3x60s L-sit the shoulder will be feeling better and the prerequisite strength will be there. Is this correct?

But I will definitely listen to you and coach and work up to 3x60s L-sit, if you don't mind answering these last few questions for me I would appreciate it! I have been messing around with progressing on the PL for almost 2 yrs man I really want this and want to do it right without injury. Thanks!

In Coach Sommer's program the 3x60 basic Li-sit (on the floor hips can be any amount behind arms, feet don't touch) is a primary prereq for Planche, its that way for a reason. Make that your primary concern.

Playing around with the other elements is absolutely fine though, so go for it, just don't let it interfere with objective #1.

They are minerals that help strengthen joints and tendons. It stopped my shoulder pain. Its called Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Also ice it and stay off it for a couple days.

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

As far as how L sit works towards planche, if you are doing L sit correctly you will be pressing your shoulders as high as they can go. Kind of like shrugging your body as high as you can off the ground with your shoulders. By building up the strength to do this for 60s in the L sit position on a regular basis, which is MUCH harder than PB support, you will build the shoulder and scapular strength and stability that you need to handle the stress of planche training. It makes a HUGE difference. I will also suggest that you focus a LOT on your XR support and the Iron Cross elbow conditioning that coach posted. Trust me, it works very very well and will benefit MANY other skills besides just planche! I screenshotted it and that is my desktop on one of my moniters, just so I see it every day and remember how important it is.

Edit: I know I will probably get called out on not mentioning the core strength and wrist strength 60s floor L sit builds as well, which is also a HUGE part of planche training. There we go, it's out there now!

Thanks slizz!

1.So for my FSPs i was working PL coupled with reverse pushup, I eliminated the PL and am doing 3x5 PPP with the 3x33s reverse pushup. I also have 5x12s PL leans in my FSP as well. Should I remove all PL until shoulder is better or will this be fine to leave in? If so should I leave a 1x60s reverse push up in there? They feel ok when I am doing them. Soreness and pain is in the warmup and after the work.

2. Also, I moved my L-sit sets to the floor and am doing 4x17s on the floor, pretty happy about it bc you are right, they are much harder! My XR support is 3x25s. This is the only time I am working these unless rx'd in the WOD. Should I be doing more volume or working a weighted L-sit since I am now focusing very hard on these two positions?

3. I have started Ido's scapula routines in my warmup and have been doing the stretches you should us, I am still experiencing some soreness ( I know its only been a few days since I started these). Should I be avoiding any kind of movement or exercise other than PL or should I continue working everything as normal and wait for the pre/rehab (i do it 4 days/wk) to start working? Just not sure if I should rest it completely (not what I want to do) or if I am fine to continue on working out omitting PL.

4. This might be a question for the routine thread, but I am also trying to fit in Crossfit WODs after these or one in the morning, one in the evening. I also do Jui Jitsu M, W, F, but haven't made it to a Friday class in a long time. This is alot of work but for the most part I can handle it. This goes back to #3 above, should I cut out some of this until the shoulder is better?

Wow! This feed is really helpful. I went through some serious shoulder rehab about 6 months ago. My mind said "you're ready to go" but my shoulder was not in the same frame of mind. Thank you for the tips on other exercises to do that will keep me in shape and allow my shoulder to get back to normal!