My take on shoulder injuries is that it has a lot to do with both weaknesses in the core and the shoulder. If you have a weakness in the core more stress will be put on the shoulder joint during the pull phase of the stroke.
The first rule is to prehab - don't wait until you have a problem to try and strengthen your shoulder and core. The second is to choose dynamic exercises that challenge the core and bring the shoulder through multiple ranges of motion while performing the exercise. Proper progression MUST be used, no pain should ever occur, and every movement shoule be controlled. Follow these guidelines and you are ahead of the game.
Here is an exercise that we use with our swimmers and MLB players. Works great but make sure you progress properly.
YouTube - Grif Fig and Adam Brush - dynamic shoulder exercise
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I had a shoulder sprain last summer and it made me never want to have to deal with shoulder issues ever again so I started doing some rc excises as injury prevention. I think im going to start to incorporating these exercises along with what I'm already doing which is a few of these- www.usaswimming.org/ViewMiscArticle.aspx.
Sometimes I feel like my shoulders are being over worked with the combination of rc exercise and swimming 4 times a week. I'm going to start weight lifting too within the next 2 or 3 months. My question is how do you balance swimming, weight lifting, and rc exercises? Right now I do the rc stuff about three times a week before bed. When and how often should i do these rc exercises without over working my shoulders?
Always monitor your volume. If you are doing 3 sets of 10 reps of 5 different exercises and it is to much then reduce it. You can change it to 4 exercises or do 2 sets of 10 instead. In other words, don't over do it and listen to your shoulders.
I like to incorporate my shoulder exercises into my strength routine. For example, if I am doing sets of lunges I will do a shoulder stability exercise in between sets. I refer to it as an active rest. If I am doing back or upper body then I may use some shoulder stability exercises as a functional warm up. Integrating it into your program is efficient and effective.
These are just a couple ideas. I hope they help.
I had a shoulder sprain last summer and it made me never want to have to deal with shoulder issues ever again so I started doing some rc excises as injury prevention. I think im going to start to incorporating these exercises along with what I'm already doing which is a few of these- www.usaswimming.org/ViewMiscArticle.aspx.
Sometimes I feel like my shoulders are being over worked with the combination of rc exercise and swimming 4 times a week. I'm going to start weight lifting too within the next 2 or 3 months. My question is how do you balance swimming, weight lifting, and rc exercises? Right now I do the rc stuff about three times a week before bed. When and how often should i do these rc exercises without over working my shoulders?
Always monitor your volume. If you are doing 3 sets of 10 reps of 5 different exercises and it is to much then reduce it. You can change it to 4 exercises or do 2 sets of 10 instead. In other words, don't over do it and listen to your shoulders.
I like to incorporate my shoulder exercises into my strength routine. For example, if I am doing sets of lunges I will do a shoulder stability exercise in between sets. I refer to it as an active rest. If I am doing back or upper body then I may use some shoulder stability exercises as a functional warm up. Integrating it into your program is efficient and effective.
These are just a couple ideas. I hope they help.
