Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Using the TRX for Shoulder Rehab

Last week, I was at the playground with my niece, who was playing on the bars, swinging around and doing gymnastics. She does not go to formal gymnastics training, but she is actually quite good; a natural gymnast. I decided to teach her how to do a glide-kip.

She wanted me to demonstrate. And though I haven't done a glide kip in about 15 years, I figured what the heck and gave it a whirl. To my pleasant surprise, I was able to perform the kip without much difficulty! During the course of the afternoon, while instructing my niece, I performed about 12 kips.

The next morning, I knew I had made a mistake.

My shoulder was killing me and I was pretty sure I had given myself a minor rotator cuff tear. Really, I should have known better!

On top of this, I have been trying to get back into triathlon training and have been doing a lot of weight training. Now I had an injured shoulder! But I decided not to let that set me back.

I have a trusty TRX.




I'm a big fan of the TRX. I've used it not only for myself, but also for rehabing patients. The great thing about the TRX is that it can be used to make exercises HARDER or EASIER, depending on the angle of pull.

Some of the exercises I have been using on my injured shoulder include:


TRX Pull-ups
(easier on the shoulder than overhead pull-ups)



TRX Triceps Extensions
(easier with a more upright posture, harder as you move your feet back)



TRX Lateral Trunk Twists
(start with small movement, working up to full range movement)



Happily, my shoulder has been healing nicely and I am transitioning back into regular pull ups, side planks with a twist, and overhead triceps extensions. (And soon, advanced TRX exercises to make the exercises HARDER, instead of EASIER. 

On a related note, since my flexibility is in the crapper since my thru-hike, I've also been using the TRX to assist with pistol squats, since there is no way I can do them unassisted until I become a bit more flexible!


TODAY'S THANKFUL: I am thankful, on this cold cold day, that I have a nice roof over my head!







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