Rotator Cuff Therapy – How to design an exercise program

Article by Steve Kaiser

Rotator Cuff Therapy – How to design an exercise program – Health – Wellness

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Rotator cuff therapy is the single most important issue affecting the treatment for rotator cuff tear injuries. What you do during rehab is the key to a successful result. Regardless of the type of injury you have suffered or surgery you have had performed.

It is important that it must be a bespoke program, not a generic one i.e. it must be tailored to you as an individual. The outline below is based upon a rotator cuff repair surgery rehab lasting up to six months.

So, just what should you anticipate from therapy? Well, you should expect a progressive program of exercises based upon your condition and level of healing. In other words it should get harder as you get stronger.

In the very early stages, exercise is so important, but it must be aided and as pain free as possible. A little discomfort is to be expected but stop on pain. If something hurts too much stop – it is that simple. A little discomfort is to be expected but stop on pain.

Start with Isometric exercises or assisted / passive. This is to allow the rotator cuff muscles to start working without being under any real strain.

Isometric exercises – for example, pushing against an immovable object, such as a wall, or holding the muscles under tension. Neither the wall nor the rotator cuff muscles actually move, they are not being stretched, but they are working and therefore getting a safety first work out.

Passive motion – Have someone else support your arm and move it gently. Do not allow any motion beyond pain free range. In this instance the muscles are moving but not actually working, so an increased range of movement can be achieved in a risk free manner. It can be utilised for movement in all planes.

The middle bit

Therapy / rehab can a long process and it can be boring. This is the point when so many people give up or stop taking things seriously. Please, do not give up your rotator cuff remedial work now; this is such a vital time.

The middle bit consists of slowly increasing the number of exercises you do. Increasing the number of repetitions (i.e. 8 – 10 – 12) and sets (i.e. 1×8, 2×8, 3×8, 1×10…..). At the same time very gradually build up the resistance. In other words make the muscles work harder.

You may also be ready to add some weights. Nothing too heavy, just simple hand held weights will increase the work the muscles are doing. The cuff muscles are small so start with nothing more than 1lb and an absolute maximum of 5lb.

Try resistance bands to slowly and gently increase the strength and durability of the muscles. Elastic based exercises for injured rotator cuff muscles are universally accepted as a vital part of any recovery protocol. The bands are particularly good because they hold the muscle under tension throughout the whole plane of movement.

Strengthening

Strengthening is the final phase of rotator cuff therapy. This should include not only the rotator cuff muscles, but also the muscles that surround the shoulder. The shoulder works most successfully when there is a balance between all of the separate components. By simply strengthening the cuff you can throw everything out of balance. This could lead to other problems developing.

Slowly increasing the weights used and / or the number of reps / sets will aid in strengthening. You will be able to feel the improvement by now and should be, pretty much, back to normal. The importance of strengthening is to ensure there is no repeat injury in the future.

This is just an outline of what you can expect. Join me here to learn more about rotator cuff therapy

About the Author

Steve Kaiser has used exercise to treat his own rotator cuff symptoms. Learn how you could do the same at Rotator Cuff Therapy Exercises . His new book “Natural Rotator Cuff Healing” a comprehensive guide to rotator cuff treatment is available for immediate download.

Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author’s information and copyright must be included.

Steve Kaiser

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Isometric strength training promotes muscle toning and endurance. Learn exercises and stretches for your workout routine in this fitness video.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

How to Design a Fitness Training Plan

Article by Denise K. Wood, Ed.D.

Your fitness training plan should be designed to provide clear and personalized direction toward achieving your goals. It is a blueprint that organizes all of your exercise activities into one cohesive program for success.

Before you design your plan, establish specific training goals. Also, gather results from any health or performance-related assessments, such as body composition, stress tests, or strength tests. Your goals and current condition offer meaningful information on which you can craft your individualized fitness training program.

Steps 1-6 summarize how to design your plan.

1. Set your target date for achieving your goals and work backwards to the present.

2. Break down your total time line into training phases of at least 4 weeks (with some latitude), starting with your initial conditioning phase.

3. Assign a purpose to each of the phases of training so that, collectively, they lead you to your goals. For example, phases may have a purpose of increasing strength fitness, cardio fitness, or maintaining fitness. All exercise activities should work in concert within the same phase. The use of training phases, or cycles, is known as periodization.

4. Within each phase, or cycle, include variations by week and by day within a range that fits the purpose of the phase. Slight variations in training regimens produce more consistent gains and prevent boredom.

5. Choose the primary exercises and alternatives that you plan to incorporate in your program in light of the exercise equipment and facility you have available. Work in any prescribed exercises you may have received from a health professional.

6. Plan detailed daily workouts for the first training phase. Select the exercises and activities for each training session and determine the order in which you will perform them. Allow ample time for all activities, including warm up and cool down.

After the design is completed, implement the first phase of the training plan. Evaluate your progress and revise the next and subsequent phases in light of how you are progressing toward your fitness training goals.

www.bayoufitness.com When starting a major fitness plan or just aiming to maintain your current health, it is always beneficial to have as many exercises as possible available to you. This will not only give plenty of choice in your routines to accommodate for exercises that may not be accessible to you due to mobility or practicality but will also offer alternatives in working a body part when results from a specific exercise plateaus. The E-8660 offers two stations and two weight stacks with dark gray weight shrouds which allows two users to workout at the same time on the E-8660. The left station is a fully adjustable chest press station. The back pad and seat angle, ankle pad hold down, frame distance from the unit and press arm are all adjustable. The segmented and angled back features multiple positions adjusted along a ladder back. The rolled seat pad offers adjustment teeth for proper correlation with the back or for multiple leg lengths in ab training. Both pads measure 4.33″ and are wrapped in thick vinyl for maximum comfort and stability. The roll pads also adjust for ab training. The entire bench moves closer or farther from the unit with the angled front handle to allow for the most beneficial chest presses available. The press arm itself also adjusts in multiple positions to create an appropriate starting site for chest or military presses.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

More Fitness Training Plans Articles

How to design the best Kettlebell Workouts

Article by Greg Brookes

Kettlebells have exploded on to the fitness scene over the last few years. For those of you who haven’t experienced the benefits of training with a kettlebell now is the time to get started. Originating from Scotland and then utilized by the Russian special forces this round hunk of metal with a handle has a strong history of getting results, and fast. Learning to use a kettlebell correctly is a skill in and amongst itself and I would recommend that you seek out a professional to help you learn the movements properly before being let loose on your own. But once you have mastered the individual moves then the fun really starts. Following some simple rules you can start to put together some fat blasting and strength building workouts in minimal amounts of time.

To begin you should ensure you go through a thorough warm up. This can either involve using a much lighter kettlebell or just mimicking the movements of the oncoming workout without any weight at all. So swings, squats, lunges, turkish get ups etc. can all be done without the use of a kettlebell.

Following your warm up start to work on your static movements. So windmills and Turkish get ups are excellent. This also serves as a great way to continue to warm up the body for the more dynamic exercises that will follow. Take your time during this phase, work on precise technique and aim to slowly increase the reps and kettlebell weight over time.

The next phase is to get into the dynamic stage of the workout. So a series of swings, high pulls or snatches. In my view these exercises don’t lend themselves well to going too heavy. You should try to work for time so 1 minute of each exercise on each arm is a good goal. Try using some Tabata intervals for this stage or putting all the dynamic movements together in a circuit. This stage will be very cardiovascular or strength endurance based.

The final phase is where you can start to incorporate the more “grind” based exercises. So presses, heavy cleans, pistols etc. I like to use a ladder based format here to motivate progress but ultimately you are looking for strength gains during this phase. This really is your chance to start to push your kettlebell poundage and to even start working with 2 kettlebells.

So there you have it, follow this with stretching of all those muscles that are tight, usually hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings. By following this format you ensure that you hit your fast and slow twitch muscle types as well as performing it safely without risk of injury.