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Bodyweight one-arm pushup training one side only?

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Matt604

Matt604

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I have an injury that causes my right shoulder to hurt when I perform any sort of press or move my arm overhead. The plan is to rest that arm for a few weeks. My left shoulder is fine. I would like to work on one-arm pushups, and eventually get back to handstands as soon as my right arm feels better.

Just curious whether anyone would recommend that I do pressing work with only the left arm for a while -- e.g., one-arm pushup training on the left side only -- or is the risk of building a left-right imbalance too high? I have read various accounts of athletes working one side only for a while during an injury and coming back stronger on the injured side than they would have if they had rested both sides for that time period, but I don't know if that would be recommended for a non-athlete fitness enthusiast like me. I'm thinking that the regular high-tension work throughout the torso and arms would be beneficial to my right arm even without using it as a prime mover, but I am really just guessing here.

The rest of my program is one-arm swings, pistol squats, and as much walking as I can get in. The swings don't aggravate my right arm so I'm working those on both sides evenly.

Thanks in advance!
 
You remind me of me. I've been focussing more on the right arm one arm pushups because of a sore left shoulder. I'd rather nail a bunch of one arm pushups with just my right arm than with no arm!
 
I've had rotator cuff repairs on both shoulders (both injured playing basketball) at different times. During my recovery from the most recent one I went months only training the uninjured side. In fact, I did not reduce my normal training volume, just did it all with one arm (including lots of high volume snatching).

I encountered zero problems as a result of this, and my recovery was very successful.

Do you know what your injury is?
 
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Thanks to those who responded so far. @Steve W., nice to know that training one side worked for you.

No, I don't know what the injury is. I'm pretty sure I know how I got it -- too much too soon of hanging one-arm scapular pulls (i.e., going from passive to active hang). That was a year ago, and it has been nagging me ever since, but I have never really laid off the arm completely. I finally decided I will really rest it for a few weeks and see if that's what it needs to heal up. If not, I will have to see a doctor. I'm 46, which is too young not to have full mobility.
 
@Matt604
Rest certainly can't hurt, and I'm certainly not in a position to give medical advice. But here are some of my biggest bang for the buck shoulder tune-ups:

--Original Strength crawling and rocking variations.
--The David Allen band pull-apart super series:

--Mace and clubbell swinging.
--Dislocates using a PVC pipe (I didn't start noticing results from these until I did them very consistently and patiently over time, keeping my hands at a comfortable distance and not trying to force progress).
--KB snatches.
--The D I C K Hartzell band stretches (I have to write his first name that way or the language filter makes a mess of it -- the filter does not approve of the nickname for Richard), especially the set up with the band looped around the elbow and hand in the video below. I do my own variations of this kind of stretching, but I find that the band set up that captures the elbow makes a huge difference (and IMO should be widely used in physical therapy circles, although none of the many physical therapists I've worked with had ever seen it before):


Things that have been counterproductive:
--Any sort of wall slide variation.
--Focusing on "packing the shoulders" when lifting overhead. In my opinion and experience, rigidly keeping the shoulders "down and back" (as "shoulder packing" is commonly taught and implemented) is a recipe for impingement.

Things that have been of marginal benefit:
--I, Y, T, W exercises.
--Scaption.
 
Can you work the injured side at all? Often light exercise helps maintain mobility and RoM as well as increasing blood and synovial fluid flow.

For example, can you work the left side at a higher elevation where it does not aggravate the shoulder
 
Thanks again, everyone.

@Steve W. , thanks especially for those videos -- I have tried both today and no pain, so I will stay with them. I think I may lay off all upper body pressing or pulling for a few weeks and see if these movements help get me back to full mobility.

And thanks for your comment about the "packed" position at the top of the press. I have long felt that position was not quite right for me. I learned to press on a barbell first, per Rippetoe's teachings, so it feels more natural for me to raise the traps to support the weight at the top. But I have never heard anyone talk about how to apply that to kettlebells, which can feel unstable and "unconnected" at the top if I don't pack the shoulders.

Do you have a different way of thinking about packing the shoulder during a press? Or do you just not use that cue at all?
 
Matt604 said:
Do you have a different way of thinking about packing the shoulder during a press? Or do you just not use that cue at all?
Click to expand...

I don't really use that cue. Over time, experimenting with various shoulder drills, form adjustments, and going through rehab for my surgeries, I've just developed a better feel for mechanics that work. I try not to overthink it, and go with the mechanics that feel most natural and allow for the best freedom of movement. I avoid anything that feels like I have to fight against it, and seek out the groove that feels the most free.

When I am in the top position of a KB snatch or press, I do want to support the bell as much as possible with my structure and alignment, rather than muscle power. But I do not think in terms like "packing" or "shrugging".

In addition to the band exercises, I highly recommend exploring OS crawling (I mostly do forwards, backwards, lateral and axial leopard crawling). For me, it has had great carryover to my overall shoulder health, and is just generally a fun type of movement that seems to reflexively tie the body together in a way that feels great. A lot the OS stuff is like that -- doing it makes me move and feel better, and I don't care about the why or how, just the stimulus and response. Tim Anderson's YouTube channel has tons of creative variations, progressions and regressions.

I also can't recommend mace and clubbell swinging enough. There is a learning curve and an investment in equipment and developing the technique, so it might not be for everyone, but I really enjoy it and find it is a great complement to other modes of training.

The links below have a lot of discussion of the idea of shoulder packing that may be helpful, or at least interesting:

Here is an article from Bret Contreras's site (the article is by Derrick Blanton) giving (IMO) a sensible and nuanced perspective on the term "shoulder packing":
When Coaching Cues Attack! "Packing the Shoulder" - Bret Contreras

Here is an earlier thread on this forum where the author of the above article provides further explanation:
What is shoulder packing?

Here is an additional article from Bret Contreras's site (the article is by Joe Sansalone) attempting to clarify what is meant by shoulder packing:
Shoulder Packing - Bret Contreras

Besides the articles themselves, there is also a lot of interesting discussion in the comments section at the end of each article.
 
I know this is bodyweight only here, but maybe get a sandbag or something heavy and do bearhug carries. I had an injury once, can't remember what now, but i did a lot of carries. It didn't hurt, its more of a static workout for your arms.
 
Steve W. said:
I highly recommend exploring OS crawling (I mostly do forwards, backwards, lateral and axial leopard crawling). For me, it has had great carryover to my overall shoulder health, and is just generally a fun type of movement that seems to reflexively tie the body together in a way that feels great. A lot the OS stuff is like that -- doing it makes me move and feel better, and I don't care about the why or how, just the stimulus and response.
Click to expand...

Well said! And definitely something I need to do more of.
 
Thanks everyone! The band pull apart routine posted above seems to have done the trick for me. I run through it twice every day and my shoulder was back to 95% or so after just a couple of weeks.
 
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