I train the General Strength & Conditioning II 3-day.
Unfortunately, my right shoulder has started to hurt a little.
It feels a little unstable when doing pressing exercises, and when doing pulling exercises I don’t feel anything. Otherwise, I have full function in my shoulder and have no limitations.
I’m using lower weight in all pressing exercises, and will only start increasing the weight again when my shoulder no longer hurts.
Am I doing the right thing?
Thanks for the post, though I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling your best. Short answer: you’ve got part of it right, but I’d change one thing.
I do think your report is reassuring, though this should not be considered a diagnosis or medical advice. Mild pain, a vague unstable feeling only when you press, nothing on pulling, and full function with no real limitations. That’s a fairly common, usually benign shoulder presentation.
Many injuries like this are load and/or velocity sensitive, meaning that they hurt most reliably when performed relatively heavy and/or quickly. So, reducing load via adding reps, slowing the tempo, and/or reducing the RPE targets can be helpful. Reducing ROM and/or changing exercises entirely can also be useful.
Finding the entry point where your shoulder is able to tolerate training without pain (ideal) is the goal of these changes, which is followed by a gradual increase in sensitivity-provoking elements (load, velocity, ROM, etc.). So, having a graded plan here is the thing I’d tweak vs. just waiting for it to no longer hurt. My concern is mostly related to the injury risk that comes on the heels reduced tolerance and detraining that may occur during the interim without a gradual return to “sport” (normal training).
Some of our material:
If you’re having trouble finding an entry point, have specific concerns regarding your plan, or this lingers for a few weeks, please reach out to our pain and rehab team and they can give you a hand (support@barbellmedicine.com).
-Jordan