Fix Your Muscles In The Rotator Cuff For Fast Shoulder Recovery

Good Physical Therapy –also often misspelled as Phycial Therapy– for the shoulder is difficult to find.

I should know: it took me years to figure out how to finally fix the muscles in the rotator cuff, but the good news is that my shoulder recovery is now complete.

I‘m sure that many of you too have „been there, done that, won the T-Shirt.“

So you can probably relate to my journey …

My shoulder-story started with a sudden, sharp pain while doing lateral raises.

The pain didn’t go away by itself, it actually got worse all the while.

It stressed me out big time: what was wrong? Something torn maybe? I hadn’t a clue, and I was worried.

Many therapies later the problem was still the same, nothing seemed to be effective.

Would I need surgery? Oh boy, Oh BOY!

Grappling was a great idea (not), even with painkillers it got to where training plain was not in the cards.
Heavy presses in the gym? No way.

The Pectoralis Minor protracts the shoulder yet is often overlooked.

Well, enough of the negative stuff!
I was so lucky as to come into contact with a sports therapy that is really effective: A.R.T., short for Active Release Technique, and today I want to share it with all of you who have similar injuries.

And then we finish off with a great rotator cuff rehabilitation protocol! But more on that in a bit, allow me to ramble on …

After the first treatment with this technique the shoulder felt better right away, and it got better all the time. From ONE treatment!
I had several more, for sure, but the difference was very noticeable right away.

It was impressive, to say the least, to the point that I later went and learned the stuff myself, so I could help my athletes with their aches and pains.
(by the way, the folks over at A.R.T. don’t pay me for endorsing them, I simply want you to know about this stuff so you guys can have the same benefits as my athletes and I)

Throwing (Handball, Soccer Goalies, Shot Put etc.), pushing (bench pressing in particular), punching (boxing, MMA), falling on an outstretched arm (again Goalies, Snowboarding and other Winter Sports), swinging a bat or club (Golf, Hockey, Baseball, etc.), or a lot of typing, drumming, playing the piano … all that is likely to cause some shoulder pain sooner or later.

So what to do?
Here’s the quick and dirty:

Treat the structures of the shoulder, focusing on those 4 rotator cuff muscles: Supraspinatus, Subscapularis, Infraspinatus and Teres Minor.
Throw in some Latissimus Dorsi & Levator Scapula and you’re good to go!

Then train, strengthen and stabilize these very same structures.

Here’s a simple and yet effective Shoulder Recovery Protocol:

“The Shoulder Shocker”

I can’t claim the glory for this one, it was developed by professional strength coach, Joe DeFranco.
It’s a great Tri-Set (three exercises done in a row) that works fast, so I use it for myself and some of my athletes as well.

Exercise 1. Seated Plate Front Raise, 3×9-12 reps, 1010, 10s.

Exercise 3. Seated Dumbbell Muscle Snatch, 3×8-10 reps, 1010, 120s.

This is how I do it:

I use a 10 kg/22 pound plate for the first exercise, raising it smooth for a second, lowering it for one second, total of 9-12 reps.
Then I grab the dumbbells and after just 10 seconds do 9-12 lateral raises with the same tempo.
Following another 10 second-breather it’s time for the last one, the Muscle Snatch, using the same dumbbells*.

I take a 2 minute break, and do it all over again, for 3 sets: that’s enough!
*The Dumbbells should be about 10 % of your bench max each or less, start out light: you’ll feel the burn here right away!

The Table:

Here’s the promised Video on the Shoulder-Shocker:

A Note on Overload: as you get stronger and your shoulder more stable, you will be able to do full reps on all sets with strict form and tempo. In this case 12, 12, and 10 reps, for 3 sets.

At that point you raise the weight, usually by about 5-10%. Like, right now I use 15kg/33 Lbs for the Plate Raises and maybe 10 kg/22 Lbs for the Dumbbells on a good day.

In summary:

When you have shoulder-problems, do not despair.

By all means get an MRI, just to be on the safe side. It could be the labrum torn, and that DOES require surgery. But more like than not it’s nothing serious, and can be fixed quite fast by a good rehab expert.

Good Luck Y’all, and I see you in a bit!

Mark