doing squats tonight, i was just warming up at 225 or 245, when i noticed a pain developing in my shoulder ( left )

some of you reading this may have posted before to my shoulder problem threads on this forum. those have since gone away, problem free.

i usually dont do squats but the leg press machine was out of service.

using a full bar, and a rack, i wonder if maybe while having my arm straight out to my side, hand up 90 degrees to grab the bar if maybe it just went too far backwards. i am just curious if anyone else has experienced this, the pain was level with the top of my armpit, square in the middle of my shoulder. felt like a cramp. kinda painful. seems like the pain has gone away. ill know for sure in the morning.

i was only wondering if anyone has had this problem, in the area i mentioned?

thanks,
Rob

 

BuiltFordTough,

If you are getting shoulder pain while doing squats, you're doing them wrong man! ROTFLMBO!! Use you legs Dude! Your Legs!

 

i knew i was doing something wrong when people were looking at me funny... i thought that chick just liked my- form!

 

Sounds like an bar missplacement on your shoulders forcing your shoulders to pull back to keep it from rolling. This would cause the strain on the joint.

Try placing the bar across the delts and the trapezius, not just the delts. You could also try placing your hands on the bar as close to your ears as possible. This contracts your traps, making a nice, stable surface.

The best website I found where you can ask this question and get help is here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com

Forums
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/index.php?

The site is not just for bodybuilders or powerlifters alone. I found the people in the forums there very helpful for anyone who is involved with lifting for any reason. No matter if they are newbies or experienced. The website has plenty of squat articles that should help you as well.

I began lifting freeweights two years ago (at age 50) to get my health back, build strength and lose weight. Dropped 75lbs from 245, got my health back and built up some needed upper body strength. Did this with a three day split, an hour to 90 minute session lifting moderately heavy weights at a College weights class. Found I liked it and drifted into a combination of powerlifting/strength routine. At home, I will parallel squat with 200-225 after warming up with less. My personal best when taking classes was 295.

Saying that. I have an old Supraspinatus anterior tendon tear in my Left shoulder that caused an impingement problem. The tear is not from lifting but showed up after six months of lifting heavy. When I would squat, I would get a slight pain in front of my shoulder where the tear is. I make sure I do RC exercises before any lifting and be sure to stretch. I would imagine you do the same.

 

I started out with the leg press too but found the squats for better overall core strength. But if you are not using proper form....you are going to get injuries. Start out with lower warmup weights until you get the form down. Whether you are trying for lower than parallel or just at. I cant get down "*** to grass" (could never squat flatfooted anyway) but learned how to do parallel squats from doing box squats to keep my heels from raising up.

Never went back to the leg press and at home, I use an Olympic bench with bb and plates. Get the form down pat and you may never go back to leg presses either.

 

there is a machine at the gym, where the bar runs up and down on slide rails, and it has cables. i wonder if i should try that machine next time?? i just think while my hand was raised upward, it went too far backwards. other than that i feel i have good form, there is a mirror in front of the racks.

 

Sounds like you all are pretty knowledgeable about shoulder problems. My $0.02 - are you doing any behind-the-neck lat pull-downs or military presses? Those are very hard on the shoulder. Maybe the squat rack isn't where the damage is being done.

 

spikedog-

i do military press in front of the head, standing up, usually no more that 115-125 pounds, but typically at 95 pounds, 4 sets of 6-8

i dont do much lat - pull downs, and the ones i do are in front also. i use a machine that the weights are at the end of a long rail, like a see-saw at the playground- not the cable machines. usually do 3-5 sets at 340 or 360, sets of 6-8 also. but i dont do those very often, just enough to keep the strength there.

 

Get a cardiac enzyme test. Sounds to me like you are having a mild MI. Not that I am a Doctor or anything.

 

Ya know, I just tried getting into the squat position, and I may be feeling the same pain you got. Left shoulder, inside the joint right? I have no idea what the problem is, but I suspect it's wear and tear. Wait, not tear, just wear. I think mine is probably work related though. Rotator cuff warmups usually help me.

As for the smith machine, I try and stay away from it. It's okay for starting out and learning the proper form, but you need to be free standing to refine the proper form.

I like the leg press machine because I can go heavy on it by loading it up, but I prefer the deep squat.

 

I'm with BigRig, Smith machines are a bad idea for squats and tend to lead to lower back injuries.

Shoulder pain like you're describing is fairly common with squats. Do some warmups for the shoulders and stretch them out also. Try widening your grip a little bit too. The closer your grip the more weight and strain you put on the shoulder joint. This can take a little work to figure out what's right for you. Too wide and the bar is hard to hold on your back, plus can make you round your back. Too narrow and it'll bite in the shoulders.

 

Could be improper bar placement, but I am more likely to say that you are not sufficiantly stretching your arms, back and shoulders before your leg workout. Do it. Also, if this problem is interfering with using a maximum amount of weights in your squats, then change your routine to work your shoulders the day after legs, andstead of before.

-Matt

Ps, not to brag, but ive got a personal best of 32 plates on the leg press. Anybody else want to post some personal records?

 

32 plates?? 45-lbs each? Wow, that's 1,440 lbs! Pretty darn impressive.

I didn't even realize you could fit more than 9 or so plates on each side of the machine.

I just have a rack and some freeweights at home, and am just getting started with weight training (I'm 18 yrs old). I've been working on squats lately, doing what I would do for 10-12 reps, and doing it for 20 reps by standing with the weight for 3-4 full breaths between each rep. It's a nice workout because while it works your legs, it is also a great full-body strengthening exercise, because when you're doing 20 reps with that much time between reps, you're holding the weight for a pretty long time.

Each week I'm increasing the poundage of my squats by 10 pounds. So when I started it I did 135 for 20-22 reps, then I did 145 for 23 reps... next week I'll do 155 for 20 or so reps, and so on. I weigh 165 right now, at 6'0 inches, and I'm just trying to build up strength and mass.

I try to stretch my shoulders before squatting, since holding your arms in that position so long can put a cramp in them, and so far my shoulders have been okay. Doing some real light cardio before you start to get your heart rate up may help some, with blood flow and such...

 

Yes, stay away from the Smith machine. There are a couple of threads going in the Powerlifting/Strength forums at Bodybuilding.com about this.

You can get higher poundage plates, as you see the powerlifters use, other than the standard "45s" for the Olympic bar. Most gyms only carry 45lbs as their heaviest plate weight. The bar is 45lbs itself so you can rackup a fair bit, really, when starting out and going for awhile. At home, I can get up to 275lbs on mine but my intention is to keep what I've gained so far. So it will do for now. I can always buy more plates later.

I had to pull back on doing bb military presses when I found out about the tear. Was doing quite well too. But was getting tendonitis and had accupuncture for the pain. Had to drop the military presses entirely for awhile. After a few months recovery, went back to doing shoulder raises with dumbbells palms facing to ease back in. Kept up on my RC exercises and was later able to go back to doing Military Presses with the dumbbells. Found out you can work with and around having this kind of injury. A matter of doing some research and keeping proper form.

 

if it only happens when on the machine, it has to do with the technique or such. If it happens all the time, away from the machiune as well, there is a possibility of a condition called a Tarlov cyst. It is a fluid pocket of spinal fluid that builds up on a nerve root, and then exerts pressure on the nerve, an certain movements will provoke pain. Usually it is most noticeable in the buttocks, but can project to other locations off the spine. I kmow a little about this as I get the joy of dealing wiht it every day, mine is more problematic than just a shoulder pain, I have much trouble walking, standing and sitting. a site to check would be the Tarlov Cyst support group, they go into detail the syptoms of this disorder. many people have them and cause no pain, but some become syptomatic, and put us out of commission. Just do a search for Tarlov cyst, and it will be the first on the list.