Rhomboids!

[HATE]

I posted on here a few weeks ago about problems I've been having with my shoulders. I went and talked to an athletic trainer on my campus and he told me that I have a muscular imbalance. I kinda had a feeling that is what the problem was. Like most weight lifters the front of my body is a lot stronger than the back. He also said my rhomboids are weak and that I really need to focus on pinching my shoulder blades when I pull. He also said to make sure that because of the way my scapulas are out of whack I need to avoid doing movements where my elbows go past my torso like with rows and pushups. I think im having a problem with really retracting my scapulas while not pulling my arms as far back. I've been doing batwing rows if anyone knows what those are. But even with those I see the guy in the video really pulling back and im trying to avoid that much range of motion because it bugs me. So is it possible to build the rhomboids without pulling the arms that far back? I had my friend put his hand on my back during the bat wing rows and I really pinched to get the contraction and he said I was getting it but during inverted rows I really pinched and he said I wasn't hitting it. Anyone have any input on this?

 

[Sean1332]

Look up Eric Cressey on YouTube. He has an obnoxious amount of shoulder movement type stuff because he works with a lot if MLB pitchers

 

[PaulBlack]

What is the shoulder problem(s) specifically? Pain, posture, inflexibility, weakness?

 

[napalm]

Face pulls, lots and lots of face pulls...

 

[HATE]

I think its a postural issue. There is pain but I've been dealing with this for about 6 years. I've had tendonitis in both shoulders. My shoulders aren't necessarily weak but this is hindering my performance on lifts. Like its weird. I'm very strong at grappling with another person and its not just technique, I can over power guys that lift much more weight than me in the gym. But I feel so weak on lifts now although I am gaining so maybe its a mental thing bc I'm guarding my shoulders

 

[TheMovement]

Just dont pass neutral on your motions, and try to pack that shoulder into your back pocket. Scap depressions, overhead walks with the shldr. packed, pullups pinched and packed will activate that lower trap and your Rhomboids. The rest is practice and repeat within your larger lifts.

With the inverted rows are you pulling to your chest or upper stomach?

 

[Rodja]

Pullups would be a bad idea as they work the internal rotators and the OP already has internal rotation issues.

 

[TheMovement]

Pullups would be a bad idea as they work the internal rotators and the OP already has internal rotation issues.

Tis true, had to reread his post

 

[Rodja]

http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/band-pull-apart-super-series-for-healthy-shoulders/

 

[HATE]

When I do inverted rows I pull to the upper stomach. So even neutral grip chins wouldn't be a good idea right now? And Would over head stuff be ok with the way my shoulders are? Because I cant properly press overhead (arms in line with my ears).

 

[Rodja]

When I do inverted rows I pull to the upper stomach. So even neutral grip chins wouldn't be a good idea right now? And Would over head stuff be ok with the way my shoulders are? Because I cant properly press overhead (arms in line with my ears).

All pull-ups/pulldowns stress the internal rotators. I'll post an article later about how to fix this.

 

[PaulBlack]

I think its a postural issue. There is pain but I've been dealing with this for about 6 years. I've had tendonitis in both shoulders. My shoulders aren't necessarily weak but this is hindering my performance on lifts. Like its weird.

2 cents...
Well, you can begin to correct "postural issues" right off the bat by, becoming conscious of it and correcting slouching or standing up straighter and pulling the shoulders back and upright as you go thru your day.
Overtime a muscle will shorten, if it is more contracted or slumped forward position say. (example: If one sits at a desk all day, the arms forward and head down position, can eventually shorten the pecs and shoulders and lengthen the upper back and traps) They do not necessarily have to be weaker or stronger. I know guys with tons of strength in both pulling and pushing, but have posture or inflexibility issues. The problems can come, when you want to go past your learned flexibility or for lack of a better word limits and have to stretch out the more inflexible shortened muscles of the entire shoulder girdle.
But it can be done with some attention to posture and some flexibility work.
Lots of shoulder mobility work and band traction work on the net.

Also, tension in the shoulders (where many people hold it emotionally) can also create pain and discomfort. Just like a tension headache. So again, relieving the inflexibility and tension can help with circulation and pain relief too. Trigger point therapy is also a good adjunct IMO.
Some good magnesium supp might help with the tension.

Been there done that.

 

[HATE]

Ok Im definitely gonna start really working on keeping a good posture as much as humanly possible. Also I looked at the band pull apart super series and im going to include that in my routine from now on. So other than inverted rows what lifts can/should I do until this problem is fixed?

 

[HATE]

I've been really focusing on keeping good posture for the past few weeks. Also I've been doing a good amount of band pull aparts. I've also learned that my lats are overpowering the other muscles of my upper back. Like in the inverted row my mid traps/rhomboids aren't getting near the amount of use as my lats. I try very hard to pinch my shoulder blades during the movement but they wont pinch so idk if I should even keep doing them until I strengthen the weaker muscles. I also started doing voyer shrugs, and those actually do hit the rhomboids but im also using very light weight for sets of 12. Im not sure how to progress with them or if those are supposed to stay relatively light. Another exercise I've been doing is doing seated rows but keeping my arms straight and focusing on retracting my scapulas and that seems to be hitting my back good. Other than that I do curls and farmers walks (and yeas I focus on keeping good posture while walking) for the upper body because idk what else to do. I'm not sure how long before I should incorporate other movements or start working muscles that promote internal rotation. Also I'm not sure how often to do my current routine because it isn't much. Anymore thoughts?