I’m 36, 5’9", 212lbs. About 6 years ago or so I was doing a half-assed version of the SS Novice Program. My shoulder started to hurt, first noticeable during OHP, subsequently during bench press. I tried to rest, ice, and NSAID it for a couple weeks and resume training. In short, I did everything wrong (up to and probably including my form that may have caused the issue in the first place). Training fell off, I’ve been doing an off-and-on half-assed approach to the gym for a while as I slowly grew fatter and weaker.
I’m reading/listening to the Blue Book now and trying to piece things together so I can start over properly; exercises and form, diet, and this old injury. In time it faded into the background so that I all but forgot about it. “Normal” activity hasn’t bothered it. Active stuff–loading/unloading and stacking 60+ square bales of hay–would leave it aching and sore for a couple of days. Mostly it complained infrequently and I ignored it. Low to moderate (for me) Bench Press doesn’t seem to make it act up. I tried to do some dips once a couple of years ago and it was very painful. Last week I did 4 sets of OHP with light weights (40-50-70 lbs) and low reps (6-8) and it hurt the next day, then sore for a couple more. Now it’s back to being “fine.”
I want to dive into the SS Novice Program properly, as I said, but I’m concerned that as soon as I start trying to OHP it’s going to flare up. I called and made an appointment with an Ortho, but I’m concerned that the age of the injury might make it difficult to actually diagnose. I also read a couple of The Shoulder articles at Barbell Medicine, which make me skeptical about surgical intervention unless there is a very clear smoking gun. So, some questions:
- Should I keep the appointment just to rule out something more serious that would require surgical intervention?
- If the diagnostics don’t reveal anything, is there a good way to proceed with rehabbing an injury that has had years to heal poorly so that I can get back to getting good?
- If not, what is the best way to work around the problem to mitigate the impact?
Thanks very much for your help.