Is it bad if I hear clicking and popping in my shoulders while lifting? It’s not painful but it’s uncomfortable.
Those are BAD NEWS, bruh!
When your shoulders start to get all crunchy— it's the canary in the coal mine— a pretty good indicator that you'll potentially run into some NASTY shoulder problems in the future if you don't do something about it.
Usually, it's caused because the anterior muscles surrounding the shoulder joint— the one on the front of your body— are overpowering the other surrounding real estate of the shoulder joint— the rotator cuff, teres major, mine, side, and rear delts— generating an imbalance that might result in shoulder impingement.
Just to make sure that you people are not going to go full-blown hypochondriac with this shit, clicks, and pops are PERFECTLY NORMAL if they aren't painful, BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE, when it's in the ball and socket joints— hips and shoulders— it is almost always a sign of an imbalance that if not addressed will lead to fucked up scenarios.
I'm never STOKED to find clicks and pops in my knees, elbows, and neck, but in my experience, it's rather common and harmless for some clicking and popping to happen on those— especially if you warm-up poorly, or don't stretch— but shoulders and hips, you need to think deep, and figure that shit out.
So here's what you can do about it.
WORK ON YOUR SHOULDER MOBILITY.
Stupid simple, hang from a bar for as long as possible 2-3x a week and voilá!
You’re treading the path toward better shoulder health.
THAT WILL WORK, and it’s conventional wisdom between any physiotherapist worth its salt.
But if you wanna go a little bit further, grab a band or a broomstick, hold it in front of your pelvis, and with your arms straight circle your arms all the way back to your butt without bending them, if you're using the band when you reach the portion of the range of motion where your mobility is most compromised pull the band apart to allow for the movement, with the broomstick, you'll simple can't go further, so just grab the broomstick wider until you're able to complete the movement.
Do this every day once a day for 8-12 weeks to see some benefits, 30-50 reps, always try to get that grip tighter, but don't rush, the movement needs to decelerate veeeery little when it hits that portion behind the head where your scapula moves, but not feel like you're shoulder socket will rip apart, this needs to be built slowly— any mobility for that matter.
After building this mobility do this once a week and also use dead hangs for time to decompress the shoulder joint and maintain the mobility you've built.
STRENGTHEN YOUR REAR DELTS, SIDE DELTS, AND ROTATOR CUFFS.
For rear delts use the reverse pec deck or inclined dumbbell lateral raises, with anywhere from 10-30 repetitions for 2-3 sets.
For the side delts lateral raises with anywhere from 10-30 repetitions for 2-3 sets.
Rotator cuffs get tricky, here are some options:
Face Pulls: Attach a rope handle to a cable machine and stand facing the machine, let your body fall back slightly getting you in a similar position as an inclined bench would, not that much, but basically falling back just slightly, pull the rope towards your eyes, your hands behind your ears, and finish like you're doing a back double biceps keeping your elbows high. 8-12 reps.
External Rotation: Stand with a lightweight in your right hand and your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Rotate your arm outward until your knuckles are pointing to the ceiling, away from your body. 10-15 reps on each arm.
Internal Rotation: Use a cable or a band in your hand and your arm at your side. Keeping your elbow bent and in contact with your lat, rotate your arm inward, bringing the weight towards your stomach. 10-15 reps on each arm.
Band Pull Apart: Grab a band, extend your arms forward, and try to rip the band apart. 10-15 Reps.
Giving a SOLID EFFORT to these exercises will not only help keep your shoulders healthy, but they'll also build aesthetic qualities that can bring your physique to the next level, getting that region MEATY improves the perception of both wideness and thickness TREMENDOUSLY, especially when you're not shirtless, it makes the shirts hang a bit, it's fucking AWESOME.
'Cause let's be real, doing preemptive shit that doesn't really give you direct performance or aesthetics is kind of a drag, a necessary evil, but with these exercises you can do them knowing they will impact your physique BIG TIME, helping you look as fucking J-J-J-JACKED as possible!
That's it, MY BRUDDAH, make sure to give these things a try, and let me know how it goes for you.
BANG THAT IRON!
AND STAY ON THE IRON PATH!
Big KISS
THE POTATO MAN
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BANG IRON, MY BRUDDAH!