After 3 years of lifting without any serious injuries, I didn't think anything would slow me down more than a few days to a week, but that time has come. I have two main injuries. One is my right shoulder, specifically the rotator cuff, and the other is my right chest, which is the source of my sternum pain. I had finished the tail end of 2013 very strong, breaking PRs in every single lift, but a sort of numbness began taking over one of my shoulders, and as someone who's experienced many a sore elbow, and have learned to deal with available ranges of motion, I figured I could continue training with the bum shoulder, but just paying attention to the ranges of motion, but at some point even that stopped working.
The thing that totally took out my right shoulder was the very first day of training on the Juggernaut Method - Military Press for 5 sets of 10. There could have been some form issues (althought my military press has been going up) or a matter of volume, but either way I decided to limit overhead pressing to two sets. This left me with focusing on bench press, squats, and deadlifts. The bench pressing didn't hurt, but also wasn't helping the shoulder. I Deadlifted 495lb (my pr) with the roto cuff still out and it had me hurting for 2 weeks. Then I Rack Lifted 405lb for 10 reps and 495lb for 10 reps. That was 2 weeks ago, and only now am I getting feeling back in my shoulder. This 2 weeks off was by far the most painful of my lifting career and has had me cast serious doubts on my future.
If and when I return to the gym, I'll be foregoing strength training for some time. My only goal at this point is to be able to lift 5-6x a week with light to moderate weight. I think my mistake and injuries have resulted from trying to progress too linearly as an intermediate/advanced lifter. I want consistency, and that's been something I've been lacking as I've been trying to progress too quickly. So I intend to tread a path of light resistance to get back to my former glory.
