Reintroducing the press
 

In September I developed supraspinatus tendinos in my right shoulder. Three months later it’s almost fully healed and I’ll start to press again after the holidays. Before that I just wanted get your opinion on my plan of attack:

1. Press for a couple of weeks before bench pressing.
2. Start with really low weights; say 20 kg on the press (before the injury I pressed 75 kg*6), 60 kg on the bench and do a linear progression.
3. Press with dumbbells for some time before using the bar.

Would you do something differently?

Was there a particular exercise that aggravated your injury? It sounds like you're most reluctant to get into barbell bench press, and it sounds like you haven't pressed in any form for a while. If that's all true, then I would wait for much longer than a couple of weeks to get into barbell bench press.

I'd stay away from bench for a bit. Press stuff sounds fine to do though

Ok, thanks! Slow and easy it is. No bench for quite some time, then.

Ola,

Hi. A couple of thoughts. I've dealt with on-going shoulder issues myself (maybe that means you don't want my advice). That said:

1. Think about starting with push ups for your horizontal pressing. They allow good scapular involvement (unlike the fixed back position of bench pressing). Two things you might read:

Robertson and Hartman talking about getting the scaps in order to keep the shoulders (rotator cuff) healthy:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...lls_and_shrugs

Eric Cressey's take on pressing progressions (starts with push ups):
http://ericcressey.com/ask-ec-installment-1

2. Here's my response to someone asking about Serratus Anterior (SA). I bring it up because as Cressey/Hartman/Robertson discuss, a lot of shoulder dysfunction starts at the scapula and SA plays a role in that. There are other good ideas in the thread as well.

http://www.cathletics.com/forum/show...0&postcount=17

3. If you have been working with a physio/chiro/PT person who knows strength training (in addition to rehabilitation), they can probably give you much more specific advice. However, I'm assuming you don't have such advice (or you wouldn't be asking us).

4. You might spend some time playing with:

http://davedraper.com/blog/2009/07/2...-become-lytps/

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPgEmJdDQzg

Even doing the LYTPs and Blackburns while seated (at your desk, for instance) can help you get your upper back musculature working together in a nice way. Just move into a perfect position and hold a tight contraction for several seconds or breathes.

You can easily play with these tools over the next week or two and assess how you feel before you hit the iron.

Don't be shy with rest, ice, and compression. If you are feeling good, don't be shy with using heat (either away from training or as a passive warmup).

Best,
Mark

Thanks for the advice and good reading! I'll start doing push ups and face pulls before benching.

The problem I've been having is partly related to my bad posture. Regular rehab haven't been a problem (if it hurts I tend to take care of it) but prehab/working with my posture is damn hard.

As a desk jockey, posture is an ongoing issue for me. And, it's no fun to work on. I feel your pain.

If it is a postural issue in your upper body (which I'm assuming, since we are discussing pressing), consider this also:

1. free up the internal rotators (including -- counter-intuitively -- your lats): stretch, mobilize, roll, etc.

2. improve your thoracic extension

3. pay attention to your neck: it can drive a lot of additional dysfunction

For 1,2 there is a lot of stuff on the MobWOD, but finding it can be hard. For 3, I don't have good references and I'm hesitant to talk to anyone about "neck stuff" even with the caveat of "I don't know crap. This is the internet". But, here's a link to the stuff I have in mind:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...lemt4A&cad=rja