Well, I’ve probably always had at least somewhat poor ROM but which I never really recognized as such, being used to it and not running into practical problems.
On further thinking, if I posted earlier that I used to be able to do the backstroke, on more precise recollection that is true only of childhood. As an adult when swimming on my back I’ve always used what might be called an inverted breast stroke, and probably could not have done an inverted crawl stroke (or whatever the correct terminology is.)
Actually my right side also has quite poor ROM, though substantially better than the left. And there are no pain or exercise limitation problems on the right at all. So injury isn’t necessarily the cause of the poor ROM.
It was about 2 1/2 years ago that I got back into the gym after a long layoff due to a bad relationship. I did have problems on both sides, the left being worse, for which I got deep tissue massage / neuromuscular therapy and all the same muscles as now were painful to the pressure applied. But there were no exercise issues.
It may just be a question of constant inflammation (if that actually exists) eventually reaching a point of having been too chronic.
There were also a few insults absorbed along the way.
For an extended stretch I had neglected doing DB pullovers (a shame, because my ROM for reaching like that had been better and might have been maintained had I continued doing them. On trying to resume them and discovering that I couldn’t reach back nearly as far as should be the case, I got the idea of using the DB to aid stretching. Now, for pseudo-DC-style stretching I’d found that a weight about 1/3 of 1RM was suitable. The DB I chose was within that range.
Well, for this attempted stretch it was truly stupid. Definitely hurt myself some with that one, but there didn’t seem to be really lasting damage.
Another problem was that I had been doing Larry Scott-style triceps extensions, where you’re bent over with the elbows on a bench, near the ears, and using the cable machine. Great exercise. Maybe I had taken a month or two off from it, I don’t recall, but I had been doing it OK. Well, this time it hurt quite a lot, but I made myself complete the set anyway. Dumb.
But again, seemingly no lasting damage.
The final insult was that I had the stupid idea (there does seem to be a pattern here) of doing a DL specialization program but doing it with an Eastern Bloc sort of frequency and volume approach. Of course people always say you can’t train the DL that often, but my lower back is pretty much bulletproof.
I really did not appreciate my DL being under 500 lb – it was at 485 – and was quite determined to get it past 500 with this program.
Well, a few weeks into it, it was hurting under my left shoulder while doing DL’s. I made myself continue doing them as the pain was really not all that bad and I really thought that if I avoided really retracting the scapulae at the top but just maintained neutral shoulder position I should be OK.
That is what started the at least 3 month period of then being unable to do DL’s, rows, or any sort of overhead pulling movement at all.
I had reintroduced DLs with the Gironda 8x8 program, and after finishing that let the weight drift up slowly though still keeping it extremely light.
Tried doing Thibaudeau’s approach yesterday as the second workout of the day (not much of a workout, just come in and do some sets of 3 then 2 in the DL) and while I was very slightly bothered when getting up to the top planned weight which was only 325 – although as explosive as possible so the actual force applied was greater – this morning it does feel a little bothered in the same place that it had hurt before with DL’s, so that sucks. I am sure I didn’t do anything serious with it but it suggests that I may be a long way from, if ever, getting back to using decent weight in the DL.
