Reply With QuoteWhat type of shoes do you run in? Shin splints is almost always from a heel first landing common in heavily padded running shoes.
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Back imbalance
Hello,
I'm currently doing the advanced novice program, which is helping very much with my cross country/track running. I've struggled with shin splints, so I went to a physical therapist. However, I've been told by them that I have muscle imbalances in my back, so my shoulders are uneven height-wise when I walk, and one side is always tighter than the other. Therefore, this makes me take uneven strides on each leg, one of the sources of my injuries. I'm pretty sure it was from twisting etc of playing tennis since I was little.
I'm wondering what the best way to solve this muscle imbalance/tightness in my back is. Is doing pullups the best way to, while getting stronger, balance the lats? If one side has to work harder than the other (which is stronger) then they will even out, right? Is just the pullups in advanced novice program sufficient to correct this problem? I know other exercises require the lats to pull the bar close to yourself, such as deadlifts + oly lifts, but I doubt they are stressed as much as pullups. I am doing yoga and foam rolling to become more flexible and looser as well.
I'm not some kind of bodybuilder so worried about looking perfect; this is a serious issue that is causing injuries for my sports and not allowing me to train to maximum potential. So, should I use rows or the pulldown machine (yes, i know there is no stability involved in pulldown...)? Or some other exercise? Or just keep doing the program
Thanks
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What type of shoes do you run in? Shin splints is almost always from a heel first landing common in heavily padded running shoes.
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Rows and pullups/ chins will strengthen the back. Getting stronger overall will help eliminate muscle imbalances.
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Asics Gel Cumulus 12. I have gotten 3 pairs of these this year--two from cross country season and one more for track season. I'm not sure what I will use next year, maybe something different as my feet are still growing. I am well aware of the downfalls of heel striking, so I always strike mid-foot first. I don't believe my shoes are "heavily padded." Due to my imbalances in back muscles, my gait/stride has changed so that there is more of an impact on one leg, like I'm limping (subconsciously). I'm pretty sure that this problem bio-mechanically is made worse by the intense training my coaches put us through. Like I said, I'm doing yoga, so another problem I have, inflexibility for dorsal flexion in the ankles, will be fixed, giving me a more "spring-like" stride, and allowing me to absorb the force of my foot striking the ground and immediately going into a triple extension to propel myself off the ground.Originally Posted by cpbellavia
Yes, so should I change the advanced novice program? Right now there are no rows, but there are weighted/unweighted pullups and chins. Should I customize the program for my back problem was my original question.
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I'm a big fan of rows in general. I would do rows after PC and chins after deadlift. Deadlift fatigue my back more than PCs. You could aslo do them 1 armed on a bench which will take the low back out of it. Your choice.
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Like with a knee on the bench and the other leg out holding one hand on the bench and the other a heavy dumbell and then row it up? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...ntOverRow.html
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When I started out my left clavicle/shoulder was noticeably higher than my right. This seems to have balanced out just fine. Though it's hard to tell, all this damned muscle keeps getting in the way and preventing me from having a good look.
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Yes, my left shoulder is also noticeably higher than my right, and my right midde-upper back muscles are larger than the ones on my left. This causes me to pretty much limp, giving me injuries.
You think the one arm bent rows on a bench will help--should I use the same weight on each side + same reps to make sure it evens out?
Thanks everyone
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Yes what you posted is one way to do it, the pendlay row is another. For now, I would stick to one handed. Start with the weak side. Don't do more reps with the strong side.
Member
My right shoulder was way lower and much tighter than my left shoulder-- about 2" in the mirror-- and just doing the barbell exercises actually injured me further, rather than helping. I think they would help you if you're extremely good about keeping your back tight through the press and the bench press (I'd highly recommend some coaching sessions), but I was learning from SSBT and would have to keep rereading sections to try to digest it all, invariably causing me to mess some subtle thing up. This process lead to my shoulder injury which plagued me for over a year and still isn't really healed. I'm still kind of bitter about the first doc who I went to who said, "here have some cortisone" rather than "why is your shoulder so saggy?"
You might see fairly miraculous results if you go to an ART therapist to open things up in your bad shoulder. It helped me a lot, but he had to compete with a lacrosse ball that I was abusing myself with. My shoulder isn't *completely* level but it's way better-- less than .5" of sag on the bad side.
My advice in a nutshell, assuming your saggy shoulder is due to soft-tissue issues:
- Go get ART
- Search around on http://www.mobilitywod.com/ for methods of opening the shoulder with a lacrosse ball
- Perform the barbell exercises extremely carefully, taking special care to keep your back very tight.
Apologies in advance if this is one of those "I have a hammer so I only see nails" situations. And in case kunnar reads this, my qualification badge reads "Some Dude On the Internet".
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