Since Eric Cressey is up to part three in his shoulder savers series I thought that I would share my recent ART experience involving my right shoulder.Although I’ve lifted for a number of years my chest and shoulders have always lagged behind in strenght due to other priorities.I was an avid dart player who between three nights of league play and my practice sessions threw close to forty hours a week if not more while tring to earn ranking points for four years.
The toll on my shoulder and arm was meadial tendonitis in the elbow that at times, was so bad it continuosly felt like warm water was running down my arm and dripping off my pinkie,and bicep tendonitis in my right shoulder that eventually creadted a painfull clicking sensetion along with a grinding feeling across my front deltiod that I can only describe like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.
After not benching heavy(for me) for almost a year I decided that I was going to hit 250lb by the end of this year while a previous best was 190.I will also say that because of all my shoulder pain that I could actually curl more than I could miltary press.
So on my quest to 250 I got to 215 for a triple and then my next workout got buried under 170lb.The pain felt like a hot fork was jabbed into my shoulder and twisted.
I couldn’t take it anymore, it was something I should of had fixed ten years ago but didn’t.I went to the ART website typed in my zip code and contacted Dr Brierley. After the first session almost all the pain was gone with the exception of the clcking feeling which never will if there is more than fifty percent damage due to fraying to the bicep tendon.Range of motion also greatly increased after the first session.I have gone through four session so far with my next being tommorrow and after that it will be as an as need basis.All I can say is what a difference.
Some of the movements he works me through are far from comfortable and even leave me exhausted,there is nothing like having a persons fingers up to their knuckles in your armpit trying to find a tendon, I feel like I should lay down and go to sleep and Dr Brierley is just getting sarted.
Also due to his recomendation I have presently eliminated all staight bar pressing movements and flat bench work.I now am relying on dumbell presses at varios inclines to gain strenght and getting all of the stablizing muscles in the shoulder girdle working properly.He says I should come back with a stronger bench.
So far everything seems to be working out fine for me.I am close to using the weight that I was using for straight bar inclines but with no pain now and would like to start benching again by the end of the year.