One Lifters experience with Active release Techniques

Working out and lifting weights has been a huge part of my life forever so I’ve had my fare share of aches and pains. I developed a shoulder problem about 15 years ago, back in the “How much do you bench?” days. The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body and therefore, inherently prone to injury. I attribute most of the damage to my practice of including heavy ‘Behind the Head Military Presses’ but deep weighted dips and, of course, my beloved ‘Barbell Bench’ didn’t help my shoulders either. At one point the pain was so bad I had to shampoo my head with just my left hand. I went the normal route of treatments that included anti inflammatories, ice packs, physical therapy and cortisone shots but it finally came down to surgery for Shoulder impingement syndrome. After more of the previous treatments I was back to heavy benching but I was smart enough to drop the Behind the Head Militaries. My shoulder was good enough to carry me through about ten bench press contests in the following three years. Continue reading →