the STS curse!

[werkout kween]

Hi--

I'm doing STS for second time and I've run into the same problem I did last time. I've strained my front delt on one of my shoulders. The first time, it was my left shoulder which happened halfway through Meso 3. I managed to finish, but drastically dropped the weight on the front press.

This time, it's my RIGHT shoulder just after finishing Meso 2.

I'm tempted to throw in the towel because my shoulder feels pretty weak. I know if I give it a few weeks rest, it'll be ok. But I'm bummed. I thought I learned my lesson the first time, so I didn't go as heavy for the shoulder workout. This is frustrating. I want to continue and finish Meso 3, but my shoulder says wait.

Anybody else experience anything similar? What should I do?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Jane Royse]

Mine wasn't shoulder related - mine was tennis elbow. I struggled through & finished it, too, but I truly wish I had stopped when I first hurt it. I'm scheduled to start PT on Monday. I've been "resting" it for months now... I loved STS, but now any upper body weight lifting I try to do, no matter how light, aggravates the tennis elbow.

[werkout kween]

Oh what a drag! I'm so sorry.

Guess that might have answered my question then. Maybe I'll bag it and start over when I'm feeling better.

Thanks.

[maddiesmum]

Please don't mess around with shoulders.

The shoulder is a delicate joint and if you are already feeling discomfort, you could really injure it badly. Recovery could take months and months. If you injure your shoulders, not only will upper body weight training be out, but lower body too as you still need to hoist that barbell or carry those dumbbells.

Investigate exercises to strengthen the shoulder and back off from weight training for a while. Do exercises for the rotator cuff, and include T-Y-I exercises to strengthen before you go back to weight lifting. You also need to increase your flexibility in this joint as reduced flexibility is leading to re-injuries here. Take a look at this month's Self magazine, they include a test for shoulder flexibility (I think that's the magazine I found it in today).

Clare

[kikster]

I've noticed that if I don't take the recovery weeks seriously enough, I end up injured right around the Meso 2, Meso 3 time. This is especially important for me during the recovery week between Meso's 2 & 3.

Idk if that's a coincidence or not, but it's something I've noticed about other people who refuse to take it easy in between Meso's. It's funny because I actually started calling it the M3 curse, after seeing so many people have to quit halfway through M3, due to injury/burnout.

I now make sure to include LOTS of stretching and take it easier during recovery weeks.

[werkout kween]

Thank you everyone for giving me a wake-up call. I think I've been expecting too much from my body. T-Y-I sounds like a good idea.

Pat

[Cosmo Mom]

I feel for you. I've also strained my shoulder when doing Meso 3. It is a small muscle (that we're trying to get bigger ). I've had to back off and just do smaller weights or modify any way I need to. It's not worth getting the injury. Work around the curse! Good luck!