PLEASE be careful when working out

[Sugarcoat]

So I just wanna write this to spread the message and maybe at least one person can use something positive from it. 

I’m telling you pls when you workout, which is great , please please please always no exception keep good form. Always no exception be mindful of your body and take weird sensations, uncomfortable sensations , pain very seriously and always be ready to alter the way you train for healths sake, even if that means giving up your favorite exercises or lowering weights significantly

from maybe 13 to 17 years old I worked out very intensely at the gym. Luckily my lower back and knees are fine although my knees are kinda sore sometimes. But my shoulders are fucked FOR EVER. 

I didn’t do anything crazy but since I’m hyper mobile I’m already more fragile in my shoulders and I didn’t listen to warning signs I just kept going and now I’m living with fucked up shoulders for the rest of my life that I have to watch posture constantly and do very careful physical therapy to manage, all because my teenage self was in a neurotic rush to achieve certain things. 

I wish so much from the bottom of my heart I could rewind the time and prevent this and I would now live with nice somewhat healthy shoulders. 

I’m only 19 years old but my shoulders are worse than old peoples and I’m having trouble in simple things because of it and it affects my everyday life, 

please don’t do this to yourself . It’s not worth any ego boost from being able to lift a lot. It’s not worth any amount of aesthetically pleasing muscle mass. It’s not worth it I promise. 
 

if you think you’re already careful when working out , be even more careful. 
The mind is very sneaky and will come up with all sorts of excuses as to why for example  you can keep going despite feeling something off. Or making you think you’re more careful than you are. 
 

always put health first. Nothing fitness wise is worth more than feeling good in your body healthwise I promise I’m warning you 

thanks 

[sholomar]

My 65 year old father who still squats has the same advice after decades lifting with no injuries...perfect form with lighter weights and more reps. Also there's certain exercises that you simply should not do. Google them.  Dips are one of them, they tend to hurt shoulders if not done with correct form.  Deadlifts must be done properly to avoid blowing out lower back disks... Sciatica is very common in older people from improper lifting and posture. Be careful not to overtrain and burn yourself out also, and get enough sleep with a good sleep schedule.  Insomnia is largely caused by excessive sympathetic activation...too much stress and stimulation, including screen time, stress, anxiety.  

Most personal development revolves around the ying and yang of pushing yourself while still accepting where you are in the journey...push too hard and burn out.  

https://www.holistichelp.net/blog/autonomic-nervous-system-dysfunction/

Edited September 7, 2022 by sholomar

[hyruga]

What happened to your shoulder? Was it muscle tear?

[Sugarcoat]

On 2022-09-07 at 10:11 AM, sholomar said:

My 65 year old father who still squats has the same advice after decades lifting with no injuries...perfect form with lighter weights and more reps. Also there's certain exercises that you simply should not do. Google them.  Dips are one of them, they tend to hurt shoulders if not done with correct form.  Deadlifts must be done properly to avoid blowing out lower back disks... Sciatica is very common in older people from improper lifting and posture. Be careful not to overtrain and burn yourself out also, and get enough sleep with a good sleep schedule.  Insomnia is largely caused by excessive sympathetic activation...too much stress and stimulation, including screen time, stress, anxiety.  

Most personal development revolves around the ying and yang of pushing yourself while still accepting where you are in the journey...push too hard and burn out.  

https://www.holistichelp.net/blog/autonomic-nervous-system-dysfunction/

Sounds like pretty solid advice. But it’s way too easy for the egoic desires to get in the way so you compromise form to reach some goal and it’s never worth it lol….

 

[Sugarcoat]

On 2022-09-07 at 11:40 AM, hyruga said:

What happened to your shoulder? Was it muscle tear?

I don’t know. Okay this post was written in the heat of the moment I know people have it way worse but I can say that my shoulders feel really loose and I can clearly feel how my muscles around them even my jaws tighten up so im constantly very very tight despite watching posture and all . Some degree of injury for sure happened but idk what. It’s at the front it feels lose plus I had symptoms of impingement before when I worked out

[ZzzleepingBear]

As a former gymrat, I can confirm that shoulders is probably the most likely part that anyone will mess up in someway or other. Form and technique is everything. Don't do excersices that you don't understand fully, ask someone that are experienced before you continue with any excersices, keep learning about the movement.

Even something so seemingly simple as benchpress is a common excersices that is known to mess up peoples shoulders since there is a close connection between the two muscle groups.

[Sugarcoat]

4 hours ago, Tahuti said:

???

I was mad okay ??

[Sugarcoat]

13 hours ago, ZzzleepingBear said:

As a former gymrat, I can confirm that shoulders is probably the most likely part that anyone will mess up in someway or other. Form and technique is everything. Don't do excersices that you don't understand fully, ask someone that are experienced before you continue with any excersices, keep learning about the movement.

Even something so seemingly simple as benchpress is a common excersices that is known to mess up peoples shoulders since there is a close connection between the two muscle groups.

Fellow gymrat here too

Would’ve been nice if I did this in time….

I did avoid the bench press for some time tho as it felt very off for my shoulders so at least I listened to my body to some extent but not nearly enough 

but too late now although I still do my best to improve my shoulders (I don’t go to the gym anymore tho)

[sholomar]

The book bigger leaner stronger by Michael Matthews has a lot of good advice about how to build muscle while avoiding injury. In particular a lot of people overdo the amount of isolation exercises and don't do enough big compound movements which compromises their overall progress and leads to overtraining and injury.

With any skill you're only going to make so much progress at a time and you'll also have plateaus that you have to work through. The trick is gradual progress. You need to check your ego at the door which is hard for people to do.

There's also a website aworkoutroutine.com which promotes the same ideas.  Read through that website it's a gold  mine of knowledge for free.

Edited September 10, 2022 by sholomar

[ZzzleepingBear]

4 hours ago, Sugarcoat said:

Fellow gymrat here too

Would’ve been nice if I did this in time….

I did avoid the bench press for some time tho as it felt very off for my shoulders so at least I listened to my body to some extent but not nearly enough 

but too late now although I still do my best to improve my shoulders (I don’t go to the gym anymore tho)

True. It is always easier to look back, but don't be to hard on yourself for it.

Unless you have any active injury, you could look into rehability excercises for shoulders. Those type of excercises focus more getting back the full movement and stability around joints. Maybe go to a proffesional trainer for a good rehab program to follow. 

[Danioover9000]

@Sugarcoat

On 9/5/2022 at 0:36 PM, Sugarcoat said:

So I just wanna write this to spread the message and maybe at least one person can use something positive from it. 

I’m telling you pls when you workout, which is great , please please please always no exception keep good form. Always no exception be mindful of your body and take weird sensations, uncomfortable sensations , pain very seriously and always be ready to alter the way you train for healths sake, even if that means giving up your favorite exercises or lowering weights significantly

from maybe 13 to 17 years old I worked out very intensely at the gym. Luckily my lower back and knees are fine although my knees are kinda sore sometimes. But my shoulders are fucked FOR EVER. 

I didn’t do anything crazy but since I’m hyper mobile I’m already more fragile in my shoulders and I didn’t listen to warning signs I just kept going and now I’m living with fucked up shoulders for the rest of my life that I have to watch posture constantly and do very careful physical therapy to manage, all because my teenage self was in a neurotic rush to achieve certain things. 

I wish so much from the bottom of my heart I could rewind the time and prevent this and I would now live with nice somewhat healthy shoulders. 

I’m only 19 years old but my shoulders are worse than old peoples and I’m having trouble in simple things because of it and it affects my everyday life, 

please don’t do this to yourself . It’s not worth any ego boost from being able to lift a lot. It’s not worth any amount of aesthetically pleasing muscle mass. It’s not worth it I promise. 
 

if you think you’re already careful when working out , be even more careful. 
The mind is very sneaky and will come up with all sorts of excuses as to why for example  you can keep going despite feeling something off. Or making you think you’re more careful than you are. 
 

always put health first. Nothing fitness wise is worth more than feeling good in your body healthwise I promise I’m warning you 

thanks 

    I completely agree, I was lucky to have discovered athleanx and elliot hulse, and did some of their mobility and stretching routines beofre and after lifting heavy weights. I can thrust up 250 pounds above my head, and still be flexible enough to put both my hands and elbows behind my ears.

   I also suggest way more static training than dynamic training, as it's more common to damage your joints or ligaments or pull a muscle when doing dynamic training.

[BipolarGrowth]

Roger that. 

 

[Danioover9000]

@BipolarGrowth 

   Over working one muscle group too much, without working the other antagonistic muscles is dangerous and can damage a person's posture long term, especially over working the push muscles of the upper body. The main issue is not if there's a lack of mental toughness, although that can be factored later, the main issue is posture being bad, which can later damage joints of that part of the body.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Danioover9000

[BipolarGrowth]

@Danioover9000 I think I’m working my mid traps enough. Could be wrong though

Edited September 10, 2022 by BipolarGrowth

[Sugarcoat]

On 2022-09-10 at 10:43 AM, sholomar said:

The book bigger leaner stronger by Michael Matthews has a lot of good advice about how to build muscle while avoiding injury. In particular a lot of people overdo the amount of isolation exercises and don't do enough big compound movements which compromises their overall progress and leads to overtraining and injury.

With any skill you're only going to make so much progress at a time and you'll also have plateaus that you have to work through. The trick is gradual progress. You need to check your ego at the door which is hard for people to do.

There's also a website aworkoutroutine.com which promotes the same ideas.  Read through that website it's a gold  mine of knowledge for free.

Should've done it earlier …

[Sugarcoat]

On 2022-09-10 at 2:53 PM, ZzzleepingBear said:

True. It is always easier to look back, but don't be to hard on yourself for it.

Unless you have any active injury, you could look into rehability excercises for shoulders. Those type of excercises focus more getting back the full movement and stability around joints. Maybe go to a proffesional trainer for a good rehab program to follow. 

Yea I’m visiting a physical therapist soon. I still have hope.

 

[Sugarcoat]

On 2022-09-10 at 4:11 PM, Danioover9000 said:

@Sugarcoat

    I completely agree, I was lucky to have discovered athleanx and elliot hulse, and did some of their mobility and stretching routines beofre and after lifting heavy weights. I can thrust up 250 pounds above my head, and still be flexible enough to put both my hands and elbows behind my ears.

   I also suggest way more static training than dynamic training, as it's more common to damage your joints or ligaments or pull a muscle when doing dynamic training.

They’re such g’s yea

 

holy mother that’s a lot , yea if you still feel fine that proves you’re careful enough 

Thanks for the tip

[Jordan]

I tore something in my shoulder as I relaxed a bit at the bottom of a pullup. It hurt for years but eventually I joined a dragon boating team. The light regular exercise in my shoulders eventually help it heal. 

I have also had a lot of wrist pain so much that I could not use the computer for more than a few minutes. I healed this by using a massage ball for 2 hours a day on my back, chest and lats. A massage ball might help loosen your muscles and allow blood flow inside to repair the tissue. That along with very light exercise. 

Most injuries can be fixed especially when you are young even though it seems it is impossible and will not get better. 

[Vajra]

@Sugarcoat hey man.

Sorry to hear it. Thanks for sharing your experience and making the best out of this painful thing.

Take good care - gently on yourself ✋

V

[tezk]

Yup, I fucked my lower back in the gym doing a box squat when I was around 16. Was fucked for a solid year and a half. Had to do Iyengar yoga for a year to fix it. Now I barely feel anything, but occasionally it gets provoked. 

The lesson of "treat my physical body with respect" was seared into my being. Lmao