I’m going through the NLP process. The other night I pressed 120Lb. for 2x5 and then 1x4. I felt like I probably would have been able to do the fifth rep on the final set but I let the momentum stop on the bottom rep and that was it. I got stuck. A few minutes later, I squeezed out the last rep but felt a little off in the right shoulder.
I woke up the next day and felt fine. Later that night at work I reached down to pick something up and felt a stretching sensation in my neck. Damn.
Today, my right trap and what feels like the anterior deltoid is very stiff and I know I pulled something. None of this is a big deal and it’ll be gone in a few days. My question is: Do I treat traps the same way as any other muscle pull with the Starr protocol? I know deadlifts work the traps, as does the press, and I’m convinced the bench does too. The Starr Protocol has you beginning with light weights and moving up, but how do I progress in this manner with varying degrees of stress from different movement patterns? A heavy deadlift session would be a different load on the traps than, say, pressing with the bar for high reps. I feel like I could deadlift and squat fine, but not sure about the press and bench for at least a few days.
Should I just proceed with the deadlift weight as usual, loading the traps (isometrically?) and then just do the Starr Protocol with the press/bench to bring them through the range of motion? What’s the best way to approach a muscle tear/pull that’s loaded differently depending on the movement pattern?
Also, I’d like to note I have a history of pulling this same muscle in the same area. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s scar tissue that’s going to keep this happening. Before SS, swimming laps would on day 2 or 3 was usually a good way to fix it.
