6 weeks back in the gym after two years off, and I've strained my anterior deltoid already. =( It happened yesterday while benching although I had no idea I'd injured it until the pain woke me up this morning.
I did four sets of 6 reps with 167 1/2lb (7 1/2lb & 1rep higher than last week when failed the last rep but didn't get injured), completing all reps (just) & building up to the working sets with lighter weights (per the last entry in my journal). I'm confident in my form, so I doubt that caused it. I've been working out Mon-Wed-Fri and only benching once a week (again in my journal), eating & resting well so I don't think I've been overdoing it.
Any advice on aiding recovery? Obviously rest, but should I be using a heating pad? Ice? Alternate between the two? Sling? Massage? Foam roller?
I've been cutting for the past 6weeks and have had my cards highly restricted 0-100g/day. Should I increase that while I'm healing?
And how long can something like this take to heal? Should I stay away from the gym 'til it's 100% again, or exercise anyway with much lighter weights?
Also, any thoughts on how to avoid this in future? I tend to run for 10-15 minutes pre-workout, to get my blood pumping & raise my body temperature, but I skipped that yesterday (because my workout buddy was hungover and didn't feel up to cardio!). Could that be the cause? I did do my usual 10lb plate swings for 2-3 minutes beforehand, but either that wasn't enough of a warmup or something else caused it.
I did four sets of 6 reps with 167 1/2lb (7 1/2lb & 1rep higher than last week when failed the last rep but didn't get injured), completing all reps (just) & building up to the working sets with lighter weights (per the last entry in my journal). I'm confident in my form, so I doubt that caused it. I've been working out Mon-Wed-Fri and only benching once a week (again in my journal), eating & resting well so I don't think I've been overdoing it.
Any advice on aiding recovery? Obviously rest, but should I be using a heating pad? Ice? Alternate between the two? Sling? Massage? Foam roller?
I've been cutting for the past 6weeks and have had my cards highly restricted 0-100g/day. Should I increase that while I'm healing?
And how long can something like this take to heal? Should I stay away from the gym 'til it's 100% again, or exercise anyway with much lighter weights?
Also, any thoughts on how to avoid this in future? I tend to run for 10-15 minutes pre-workout, to get my blood pumping & raise my body temperature, but I skipped that yesterday (because my workout buddy was hungover and didn't feel up to cardio!). Could that be the cause? I did do my usual 10lb plate swings for 2-3 minutes beforehand, but either that wasn't enough of a warmup or something else caused it.