Todd's shoulders.

Ok Todd (and anyone else with this issue), your shoulder
prob's.

Here's my take on your rotator's.
From what you've told me i've come to this conclusion - your pushing muscles are over developed in comparison to your pulling muscles.

ok why- maybe genetics, job etc. But almost certainly it's your available weigth training exercises.
Actually to be frank - it's the bench press & sloppy form barbell curls you are most likely doing.

How's that for a guess?

Do this- raise you bat hand to full extension. Place your free hand on your delt/pec tie in. Pull your bat hand down and across to the opposite hip (as you do in a game).
Can you feel the front delt & pec contract early on? It stops contracting at about mid chest level. Now stop still at your hip.
Where is your shoulder? It's run around hasn't it.
Now do this again fast, faster.
Where's that shoulder at? It's run around but this time further.
Without sufficient rear delt, trap and back development what's going to stop that momentum from ripping your shoulder out of it's socket?

So i'm saying your asymetric power balance can literally pull your shoulder apart. Ouch :cry:

Time to fix your muscle balance.
I know what gear you have & i've come up with a cunning plan 8)

The "One Exercise Workout"
and i've choosen to call in the 'King'
drumroll please....

The one & only, very nasty, horribly difficult....

the Clean & Jerk

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...anAndJerk.html
http://tomgorman.moonfruit.com/cleanandjerk/4510964602

yes, when it comes to working out the whole body with perfect balance there is only one name to call - the Clean & Jerk will fix you.
Suffice to say evey muscle gets a hammering with this.

Here's the program;
3 workouts per week
Sets are: 12 reps (bar only), 10 reps, 8 reps & 6 reps.
Warm up first.
Add Ab exercises afterwards if you want to.

Too simple? We'll see 8)

You will be sore! Very, very sore :lol:

But it will work. Start really light & learn the exercise properly. It's a smooth, technical lift. No jerking.
Only attempt if you're fit & well to do so. If you hurt yourself it's your fault, not mine (had to say that to cover my ass)

Well?
Go for it . 3 weeks and we'll review.

Did i mentiuon that this exercise can make you spew? BYO bucket :lol:

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it's pretty easy to blame sloppy form but it's not the only problem...

rotator cuff problems are very common in swimmers and can be brought on simply through lots of swimming, i'm told at least, maybe some people do enough swimming for that to contribute? i actually think that all the impacts we put through our shoulders aren't too good for flexibility... a few years ago i had a guy look at my shoulders while i was being demoed upon for sports massage, and he said he could feel lots of muscle fibres that were getting, um, the equivalent of callused? starting to act like ligaments within the muscle, he thought a lot of impact might have been causing it? maybe another area we dont know about, maybe i'm a freak. off topic...

secondly, we've actually found that in particular practicing inside edge passing can contribute to these shoulder problems... we have had a few guys develop big inside passes and the shoulder problems carl has described at the same time, and only in the playing shoulder. passing like that takes strong muscles but when you are practicing, if you bother, it's important to do extra work on your back and shoulder muscles to counteract the training you are doing in the pool, just like the balance between push/pull muscle sets you do in the gym. it's just easy to forget that sometimes the work we do in the pool is actually causing muscular development (as well as improving technique) that needs to be balanced.

i might try your jerks carl, if it's as miraculous an all-in-one as you claim. sounds good!

Good points Liam.

If you try the Clean & Jerk learn it properly.
I can't think of another exercise that'll hurt you gaster if you don't respect it.

If some superman out there can build up to, lets ay 100kg for 8 reps.
Then you will have one seriously strong UWH player :wink:

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Todd and I both used to be swimmers. We did the whole 10 sessions a week etc etc (torture). He never had problems with it before playing hockey but then something happened in a game last July and ever since then it refused to be painfree for him.

He does a lot of the inside passing you mentioned Liam, I think that's what causes the most pain (and when big Masters drop themselves on him in training games).

I've had 2 physios so far, and they've both told me I've developed a loose shoulder joint from my years of swimming; like you said liam.

Thanks good Todd.

How have they fixed them?
Liam, how did you fix yours?

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i only had problems with one shoulder, it still comes back if i do a lot of passing with no maintenance sessions in the gym. i dont do enough swimming to have loosened it through mileage! i hate swimming.

i just have a few simple sets of exercises to balance the back of my shoulder, using light dumbells... i do them for both shoulders to keep things even, though one arm and shoulder is obviously more developed than the other from hockey and hangs lower, but i cant be stuffed doing anything about it for purely aesthetic reasons... just so long as they keep working!

holding the elbow close to the ribs and still, moving the dumbell out laterally straight, then at an angle, then with upper arm parallel with the floor... and a similar set of exercises using either stretch bands or light cable weights. i think they're pretty common exercises, ring bells carl? then i've just added on some sets of lateral raises, to the front and side, and reverse flys, with light weights concentrating on range of movement and good technique, using the back muscles and not the arm muscles. maybe some one armed rows if i'm getting bored?

so i end up with a maintenance session that i can either do by itself with a couple of larger back/shoulder exercises or tag onto the end of whatever other session i'm doing... and i can do a light version of it with a stretch band during a comp, which i have been doing for the last couple of worlds, as obviously you cant really do any gym sessions through the tourney.

it works good for me.

just make sure when you're doing stuff, you shouldnt be feeling clicking in your shoulders... lighten your weights and focus more on technique if you do. i'm just guessing on that though, can you enlighten me further on whats actually happening if you hear a click carl? i just assumed it cant be good and a couple of gym instructors have agreed with that. ...?

Swimming does not cause rotator cuff injuries, but improper technique while swimming might, as it would during many other sports. I think doctors just take the easy out and blame swimming for anyone with a swimming history no matter how small, and hell, with what I have seen considered as swimming they could be right to do that. I have swam since I was 4 and during my high school years would do double workouts all school year with yardage in the 10-14,000 range and in the summers our daily yardage would be 15,000 or more, except during tapers. We would take a two-week break once a year. And I know many who used to do more yardage than that, all without injuries. Whatever you are doing get the technique right and keep yourself balanced. I'll have to try the clean and jerk to see if it works for me. I've never tried it quite that way, but the way Carl stands by it as the one I'll have to give it a go.

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Oh yeah, and now they're broke.

Yeah clicking isn't good

I'm not sure what that sound is actually. Can anyone give a comprehensive explaination?

There seems to be a lot of one armed swimmers here? :?

I think i'll need to explain this in more detail (to follow)
You were along the right tracks with the impact injury stuff Liam (think Rugby, i'll explain later)

BTW, if you have that kind of asymetric developement in your shoulder & back? Go see a Chiropractor before you get much older. You spine is twisted. Seriously, it is

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Made for the Love of a Good Woman, and not a bad little player too ;-)
Chumba Concept Salon
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Duck,

Don't try Clean & Jerks if you're not young or gym hardened.
It's very hard on a body & the respiratory system.
I'd hate for you to injure yourself.

It is a very demanding movement.

In this case (Todd's case) I believe he has a weakness in the posterior power chain. Clean & Jerks will find it & adress it.
I could be wrong as i don't know Todd.

I'm going to explain this in more depth shortly.

__________________
Slayer of Trolls amongst other things.
Made for the Love of a Good Woman, and not a bad little player too ;-)
Chumba Concept Salon
Professional Hair Stylist