I heard a "pop" on my shoulder
Published: Thu, 11/15/12
I was with a chiropractor a few months back & he was testing my shoulder strength
He told me he was gonna push my shoulder as I held my arm still
Once he starts pushing I hear a "pop" in my shoulder!
Nothing got dislocated or broken, but it did hurt
It made me realize how weak my shoulders were
I taught I had strong shoulders since I lifted weights, but later realized that it was my muscle imbalances that caused my shoulders to be weak & unstable
Apart from weak shoulders I also had back pain - Not a good combination!
I started to do a lot more mobility work, foam rolling, stretching & even stopped lifting weights for 3 months in order to re-strengthen my whole body with just bodyweight training
Trough this whole time when I went all bodyweight my shoulders, upper back & core got super strong!
2 key exercises that were the reason for my strength gains were Handstands & Pull Ups
They forced me to retract my shoulders back, strengthen my upper back & shoulders + get my core super strong!
Not only that but they also helped me solve a lot of my muscle imbalances since my posterior chain got a lot stronger
If I could go back in time when I started training I would do these 2 exercises daily since they would strengthen my shoulders, back & core like nothing else
If your not using handstands & pull ups I urge you do so ASAP!
I wrote a post on why you need to be doing them in order get stronger here:
They will give you strong shoulders & help you avoid pain in the long term!