Pulled non-lifting muscle
Have you noticed when you hit the big weights your whole body tenses and then something just "gives?" When shrugging 370 the traps were doing just fine when a tendon in the upper neck, where it attaches to the base of the skull said…whoa there! Now 2 days out after that and Ibuprofen I am doing fine but it was a wake-up call to focus on areas that are Not lifting and to pay attention to form and focus. All in all I have had to switch to the 10×3 system to build up different "strength receptors." I think more than anything, I need to give the tendons, ligaments and muscles more contact time per set. Doing the 5×5 is great but there are diminishing returns when there is pain associated in the bone from lifting things that are so heavy. I hate the burn from longer sets but "man-up" I am to get over this and focus on gaining strength. When there is no pain I go to the 5×5. When there IS pain I switch to my lighter rehab set but still exhaust the muscle. I will persevere.
December 11, 2008 at 7:16 am
Actually, sounds like you strained your levator, which is involved with doing shrugs. I’ve strained that one before… It’ll take a while to loosen up. Some hot epsom soaks seem to be the best thing for getting the whole back to ease up a bit, then some mild stretching.