T Nation

Squats and Sore Shoulders

Injuries and Rehab
#1

So, as stupid as it sounds, I think I finally narrowed down which exercise was hurting my shoulders: squats.

Yes, squats.

Now, whether they’re the cause of the problem, I don’t know. But I do know that my shoulders were more sore waking up this morning after doing squats yesterday than they have been from anything else I’ve done.

So if that’s the case, what does this mean? Bad shoulder mobility?

And how do I go about fixing and improving this?

(I have a poorly-lit, poorly-shot squat video in beginners… I’ll see if I can find a direct link to it.)

Edit: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_beginner/20_reps_squat_challenge?pageNo=1#5352716

#2

I couldn’t tell with the lighting but are you using a false grip? If so lose it and grip the bar as tight as possible, that actually has help some people I’ve talked to with should pain from squating.
Your elbows also look like they are flaring backwards, try to keep them pointed down.
Despite the fact that a closer grip during squats is limited by shoulder flexability, a closer grip will help make a better shelf with you upper back to take some load off the shoulder.

That + I like to start every day with YTWLs plus some other shoulder mobility work.

#3

[quote]Mdgray82 wrote:
I couldn’t tell with the lighting but are you using a false grip? If so lose it and grip the bar as tight as possible, that actually has help some people I’ve talked to with should pain from squating.
Your elbows also look like they are flaring backwards, try to keep them pointed down.
Despite the fact that a closer grip during squats is limited by shoulder flexability, a closer grip will help make a better shelf with you upper back to take some load off the shoulder.

That + I like to start every day with YTWLs plus some other shoulder mobility work.[/quote]

Thanks, yes I’m using a false grip, and my elbows are probably flaring backwards. I could use a closer grip… I do have the mobility for that.

I’d never heard of YTWLs. I’ll try that out.

#4

Good article on shoulder health, with some ideas that I incorporate into my warmups.

#5

Thanks again.

#6

I think the number of reps you are doing might be a problem. In that video you’re doing a set of 30. That’s a long time to be locked into that position and your shoulders are probably getting tighter and tighter as the set progresses. How about keeping your reps under 8?

#7

[quote]on edge wrote:
I think the number of reps you are doing might be a problem. In that video you’re doing a set of 30. That’s a long time to be locked into that position and your shoulders are probably getting tighter and tighter as the set progresses. How about keeping your reps under 8?[/quote]

I’ll keep that in mind. Up until now, I’ve stuck with a single set of 20, 2-3x a week. I’ve been progressively increasing my weight on that, and I’ll probably keep doing that until I stall out. At that point, I’ll consider another approach.

Meanwhile I’ll just monitor things closely. 30 reps there was just an exception… to win a stupid internet challenge :wink: