![Quote](https://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/images/misc/quote_icon.png)
Originally Posted by
Iceman64
Hello,
I'm 58 years old "experienced" lifter, meaning I've grown up with Muscle & Fitness Arnold "blast" programs, Mike Mentzer "Heavy Duty" routines, Arthur Jones puke routines; also competed in Powerlifting in college utilizing the Ed Coan reverse pyramid programs with a steady diet of trying all the "Workouts of the Month" articles as seen in successive issues of Powerlifting USA magazine.
In other words, I done fucked around and wasted my younger years dicking around with nonsense and have finally taken up SS and am enjoying good results.
So with that aside, I am now pretty beat up with arthritic shoulders, lower back and elbows, and junky knees. Through proper form correction, I am squating, benching, and deadlifting with some good results (meaning I can do the exercises without any hinderances and can add weight), but any overhead work, like the press agitiates my shoulder arthritis and jeopardizes my ability to bench.
I went to a sports clinic and had an MRI and was diagnosed with arthritis of the AC joint (which most people have by the time they are in their 50's), no big deal, I can try to work with that. But what was unusual (according to the doctor) was that I also had arthritis within the ball and socket joint, which is not usual.
When I keep my shoulders tight and slammed together against the bench, I can bench without pain. I am carefull to keep my bar tracking in a specific groove that does not agitate my arthritis, but the overhead press is a different story.
First of all, I can't get my body totally under the bar that results in a plumbed line down my body. My left shoulder mobility does not allow for the full movement allowing me to bring my body under the bar; the bar is a bit forward of my body at lock out. Afterwards I feel the arthritis agitation in my shoulders and my AC joints ache the day after and it hurts when I do stuff like trying to put on a jacket.
Again, benching does not result in this.
I am thinking since I worked back into the bench press, I am hoping I can overcome this and wórk back into the Press. I was told by the clinic not to do any overhead work, but I am thinking they may be wrong, and I can get my body to adapt to the exercise and eventually be able to it (with some pain, but not prohibitive pain).
Any experience with this?
I am thinking of just shit-canning the press altogether and enjoy the stuff I can do, or do some kind of alternate exercise like DB presses that could give a similar, although not total, benefit. But I love the Press.