I havn't posted this thinking it was important but it is!!!

On wednesday morning I picked up a case of water with one hand. WELL thursday in the middle of the night 4 a.m. I woke up with my left trap swelled up to my neck. NO BULLSHIT it looked as if I had a golf ball in my trap so I didn't lift until today. I got it checked out by a doc and he said it was one of two things he wasn't sure without x-rays and all that bullshit which i told him not to worry bout it i'll recover(i hate drs and i'm hardhead) well today it felt better so I went ahead and after resting 4 days thur-sun I tried working out.

I did my DE bench and it was slow I did 135X4X3 with green band around the back(avg band) then I did 2 sets with 185X3 no contrast and 2 sets 185X3 reps paused. Although it was hurting a bit I said I wasn't gonna be a lil bitch and worry bout it. WELL I FUCKED UP.

After I did rack lockouts(8inch lockout) and started my first set to get the feel with 225 and it hurt my but dumb ass thought I was fine so I jumped to 295 after my 3rd rep I just fuckin slammed the weight on the bars and I was done. I'm fucked now I can't put my arms back to squat or move my left shoulder at all.

I NEVER really noticed how much traps play an important role. After this week that i'm takin off when I come back next week I'm switchin up my routine.

DE bench,tri,lats,traps,bis.
ME movement,tri,chest,lats,traps. That's how it'll look like from now on. I'll see how my body reacts to it for 2 months.

I really did wanna do a meet, BUT if I'm gonna go down in strength now b/c 2 weeks ago I took a week off due to my tendonitis then I don't feel like walkin into a meet and hittin NO PR's for myself. Just old gym lifts. BUT we'll see how things go.

Any advice for how I can get the swelling down??

I've tried heat 15 on 15 off 4times/day on thursday
I tried icin it 20 on 20 off 3 times/day fri-sun
I've been takin 800mg IBUPROFIN(sp???), I tried OMNI EASE a spray and I put absorbine on today before liftin and it didn't help much either.

Well what the hell did the doc say might be wrong with it. Damn dude, you need to get your shit together, get your head on right, your routine straightened out and enter a meet. Its been like 9 months. I'm sending the suit out this week so heal up. Ice the crap out of your trap and try to find a way to work around it. Good luck.

Just beginning to come out of shoulder impingement which affects the area right below the trap and under the clavical. Keep up with the hot//cold therapy but cut back the ibuprofen. If you need anti-inflam. you need to consult your doc. Naprosyn is good but only for short stretches (hard on the liver). Additionally, start doing some rotor cuff work. There are a couple of good threads involving different types of exercises. Most of all, cut back the weight and shelf the ego. Believe me, you cannot just "work through" a shoulder injury. Take it slow and get back full strength in a couple of months. Good luck bro.

Oc

Hey thanks for the info guys.

GRIMM thanks for the encouragement bro. BY THE WAY I got ur vid this morning all i need is an addy so email me with it and you'll have it soon.

Oncorb thanks I just read this right now I've been busy wit school and shit but my trap is feelin better.

Overall the swellin is down to normally when I pinch my shoulder blades back together it hurts, somewhat stil so I think as long as I stay away for the rest of this week from straight benching and squatting then i'll be good. by next week to hit it up HARDCORE.

Cube-

You dont have to preach to me how bad injurys(especially shoulder injurys) SUCK!!

Im convinced mine is never going to heal. Im back to laying off pressing movements for awhile. One thing I am going to get serious on is rear delt work. I know Halbert reccomends lots of back and rear delt work. Funny how some advice doesnt sink in till you've already F'd something up.

My advice to a younger lifter like yourself is you might want to consider the extra trap/rear delt/rotator work somewhat of a priority in keeping up with your bench numbers--more so in the weights you are advancing to quickly and the equipment(shirts) you are getting into.

Like I said, better to learn these lessons on injury prevention early.-Wish you a speedy recovery.

Later..

VDOP I wasn't really preachin but more of a caution to those who don't know or don't pay attention like myself until it happens.

YEA I was watchin halberts vid again last night and I'm conviced of delt work on both bench days after lat work. I mean if you think bout it, it does make sense your pushing your body down on the bench so if those muscles aren't as strong as your tri's then your gonna get injured or be hurtin on the backside for a LONG time.