I have been lifting for 3 months now and have made amazing progress lifting 5 days a week (30-40min workouts).I gained 20 lbs in 3 months… probably 5-7 lbs fat and the rest LBM.
2 days ago I tried to beat my record on the bench and this was a big mistake. I didnt feel it at fist but the next day my shoulder was in real pain whenever i lift anything or even opening the door.
I couldnt even lift my cell phone without taking 3-4 advils every few hours. The pain is still there though not as bad right now. I dont neeed to take any painkillers but if I lift something heavy it will probably hurt.
I am most likley going to have to take a break for a while becuase of this and my worry is that I will lose the strength gains that I had made. Are there any useful supplments that can actually help speed recovery time? I am currenlty using creatine and glutamine supps. This is my first workout injury and I really have no idea how to handle the problem.
NSAID’s like advil help with inflamation but hinder muscle growth due to inhibition of a certain prostaglandin.
Keep in mind, many powerlifters don’t deadlift for at least a month before their competition. They train hard as hell up to that point then let the body supercompensate and become stronger. My point is that you won’t lose strength that quickly, and even if you do it comes back very quickly.
Don’t worry about strength losses. Wait until your shoulder feels better then ease back into things. You can usually train around an injury and work other muscle groups hard or use movements that don’t hurt. For example, you might want to start back up by doing db bench press with a neutral grip (palms facing each other) once your shoulder feels better.
IMHO you should get this checked out by a sports medicine specialist or similar. Shoulder injuries are often very difficult to recover from without appropriate rehab. Give at a week at most, if it is not 100% get it looked at. Could also be something that will never heal properly without surgery, eg labral tear.