I have been working out trying to get as pumped as possible. Now everytime I breath out my elbows have like a really sharp pain and shoulders also but doesnt hurt as much as my elbows.
I have to breath out really slow. But I still lift because I dont want to wimp out. It doesnt hurt too bad when I am lifting. But later and the next morning the elbow exhale is breath taking.
Any Ideas why? What am I doing wrong? I hit 40 this year and I know there are people that are way older then myself are still lifting. Does my age have anything to do with it though?
First things first: Your age will affect the results of working out. You will make gains more slowly, you will “recover” from a workout more slowly, and (depending on your general health prior to starting a fitness program) you may be more prone to injury, and said injuries could take longer to heal.
That being said, understand that someone half your age can still get injured working out.
(For the rest of my post, understand first that no one can accurately diagnose your on the Internet. I am not a doctor or a physical therapist.
Now, onto specifics:
Your post suggests that your elbows hurt every time you exhale. This statement could prompt ridicule from some readers, so brace yourself. You did, however, throw in the phrase “and shoulders” once. I hope you realize that the shoulders are actually far more crucial to understanding the problem than the elbows, since the shoulders are more closely attached to the part of your body that breathes.
And when you say “shoulders” do you mean the deltoids, or are you talking about around/behind your shoulder blades? We refer to this as the scapular region. There are MANY muscles around the scapular region/shoulder area. It is possible–I would say likely–that you have
- “pulled” or strained something in the scapular region
- because of its position, it stretches or pulls every time you exhale
- the elbow pain is actually a secondary effect, triggered via a connection to the shoulder area.
Keep in mind that the act of lifting release endorphins in your body that make you experience pleasure and momentarily counteract the potential pain of exertion. The next morning, after you have slept and moved minimally through the night, your muscles may hurt more because they’ve stiffened up.
What kind of upper-body exercises do you do? Do/Can you do wide-grip pullups? (I am going to guess “no.”)
Again…[points to self]…not a doctor! You ought to try finding a recommended sports therapist who can properly diagnose you and suggest a course of stretching/strengthening exercises.
Good luck. I’m sure there’s better advice to come.
[quote]JemJem wrote:
I have been working out trying to get as pumped as possible. Now every time I breath out my elbows have like a really sharp pain and shoulders also but doesn’t hurt as much as my elbows.
I have to breath out really slow. But I still lift because I don’t want to wimp out. It doesn’t hurt too bad when I am lifting. But later and the next morning the elbow exhale is breath taking.
Any Ideas why? What am I doing wrong? I hit 40 this year and I know there are people that are way older then myself are still lifting. Does my age have anything to do with it though?[/quote]
The truth is. The shoulders just feel swollen. But the elbows only hurt when I exhale. When i use the bicep it hurts a little but when I breath out is when it really hurts. This has happened before. The only way to get it to stop is to stop training for like a week. Which I dont wanna do. As for the smart *ss remarks. I dont care. If someone wants to help that is great. If someone wants to cut me down to make themself feel better then good for them. I am busy enough in my life as to not let the remarks bother me. There are alot of people here that seem to like to help out. You get what ya recieve in this life.
Thanks for your advice. I just thought that there may be someone else that has experienced this or has heard of it before. I mainly get it from preacher curls or flies. I am not sure.
I am never going to make any progress if I have to quit every time I get started on a good run.
…then the thing to do is to find the root cause and fix the problem before going on.
Consider this:
http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=314nean2
It’s the start of a series of articles that identify and correct some of the issues that might be your problem. You should also consider posting in Eric Cressey’s thread in the “Locker Room” section. He’s extremely knowledgeable about injury prevention and correction.