Kettlebell questions and answers

Rehabilitation Q&A

"I'm following your advice and I'm back in training, shoulder still feels a bit loose but it's improving by the day. Two small questions though: You recommended me to stay off the benchpress, would you recommend staying off the DB bench as well? I do them, without pain, just to do something for the chest. Are you still boxing actively (with your previous shoulder injury)?" - David
	I'm glad to hear your shoulder is doing better. Stay focused and keep up the good work! To answer you questions: Personally, I say no to any type of benchpress movement. It hurts my shoulder, so it's out. Didn't you originally inujure your shoulder doing the incline DB press? Here's my recommedation. Either eliminate the exercise (it doesn't transfer to punching power anyway) or do a DB floor press, it's safer then doing it on the bench. Partial movements are easier on the shoulder joint and has a built in spotter...the floor. Start by lying on the floor, arms by sides holding the DB handles palm up. To get the dumbells safely into position, sit up until your arms form a 90 degree angle at the elbow. Lock your arms in that position, keeping your elbows velcroed to your sides and on the floor. Lean back to the supine position, leveraging the DB's into the air. By the time your back hits the floor, you'll be in the perfect starting position. Reverse the order to return the DB's to the deck. I am not actively boxing at the moment. Occasionally, I'll hit the bag or do some focus mitt work, nothing serious. I originally stopped boxing because my range of motion was hindered after the surgery on my left shoulder. It took years to get the ROM back to normal. I think they might have overtightened it.

"I've been trying to educate myself on shoulder-rehabilitation after I've subluxed or dislocated my left shoulder for the second time now. This time it happened when boxing, 3 weeks ago. I threw a left hook, quite bad one, and I felt my arm go. I'm out of the sling now and doing rehab. Have you rehabilitated your shoulder(s) well and can you function well with it? In this case, how do you do it? Tons of rotator cuff work?" - David
	I can truly empathize with your situation. I dislocated my right shoulder more times than the law should allow. I had my first surgery in 1985. I didn't rehab it properly and continued to dislocate/sublux it about 10 more times until my second surgery in 1987. Since that time I dislocated my left shoulder three times and had surgery 1987. I never had problems with my left shoulder since. My right shoulder is a completely different story. I dislocated it at least 5 more times until 2000. It would literally come out while I was sleeping. Sometimes I could put it back in myself, sometimes with the assistance of my lovely wife. Since I started training with Pavel, my shoulder(s) have stayed in joint. I'm not a medical professional but I am more than happy to share what worked and what didn't for me. I truly believe that knowing what I know know, I could have eliminated all the surgeries and unnecessary dislocations. First, follow your physical therapist's instructions to the "T". Do all their exercises until they give you the clean bill of health. Once released, continue to do their exercises then: Begin with a steady diet of Turkish Get Ups. If you don't know what a TGU is, please see the article I wrote, Turkish Get-up: Functional & Fun. Start with a light dumbell or kettlebell. The key is to actively keep your shoulder in it's socket. Keep the shoulder low and the lat activated. Keep the reps low 1-3, don't even think about going to muscle failure. Stop throwing hooks with your bad shoulder. Eliminate it from your boxing arsenal. I dislocated my right shoulder hitting the heavy bag with a horizontal elbow (same mechanics as a right hook) and dislocated it with an over extended right cross in a fight out of the ring. I had a long conversation with Steve Baccari, boxing coach and co-author of Power Behind the Punch. He explained in detail as to the how and why the shoulder comes out of joint on left hook. It's has a lot to do with timing and distance. His advice, stick with the straigt left jab, no hooks. Eliminate the bench press from your strength and conditioning routine. Follow this rule of thumb: If it hurts, don't do it. Get a kettlebell. It will add strength, stability, and flexibility to your shoulder. If you don't know how to use one, hook up with a local KB certified instructor. Last but certainly not least, pray and ask God for wisdom. Wisdom to select the right exercises. Wisdom to listen to your own body. Wisdom to say no to things that aren't in your best interest.

"You mentioned in your account that you had problems with shoulder dislocations...I was wondering if you wouldn't care to send me some information about your workouts to help you recover?" - Matt
	I would start with the Turkish Get Up. It's a great exercise that builds strength and stability in the entire shoulder joint. I have an article that explains the TGU, Turkish Get-up: Functional & Fun. The key is to have your athlete keep his shoulder low and lat activated when performing presses, pull-ups, TGUs etc. It might not be a bad thing to eliminate the bench and add in ring pushups. It works the stabilizing muscles more and you can build up to one arm variations. Towel dislocates are a good exercise using a towel or resistance band. The key is to really open the chest and keep the shoulder blades pulled in toward the center of the spine. Windmills are another good exercise for both the shoulder and core. www.DragonDoor.com has a ton of free kettlebell related articles.