Indestructible Shoulder Program Ericwongmma

8/2/2019 Indestructible Shoulder Program Ericwongmma

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2012 byEricWongMMA.com. Page | 1Thora
http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/


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2012 byEricWongMMA.com. Page | 2

Table of ContentsA Letter from Eric ............................................................ 3-4

Intro ..................................................................................... 5

Thoracic Spine Mobility ................................................... 6-7

Postural Restoration ...................................................... 8-13

Integrated Movement: PNF Patterns ................................ 14

Absolute Isolated Strength ................................................ 15

Gross Strength Balance ..................................................... 16

On Basic Training Technique ....................................... 17-18

Summary ............................................................................ 19

Conclusion ......................................................................... 20


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Hello Person with a Bum Shoulder (or one

wanting to prevent a bum shoulder),

Eric Wong here. For those of you who know me already, you could

skip this page. But you wont want to.

For everyone meeting me for the first time, please take 5 minutes to

read this little intro and background info so yall can get to know me a

bit better.

First of all Ive included this recent (late 2011), shirtless picture of

me to show you Im not all smoke and mirrors when it comes to

training and nutrition I walk the talk. Theres little more I cant stand

than keyboard warriors who talk a big game but then have stomachs

that could be mistaken for those overstuffed feather pillows you find

in chain hotels around the world, or use pictures from 10 years agobecause theyre now worse than all the people theyre selling stuff to.

Second, my main function is as a strength and conditioning coach to

MMA fighters, both in-person and online. In-person, Ive worked with

guys in the cities of Hamilton/Toronto in Ontario, Canada, including

UFC fighters Jeff Joslin, Claude Patrick and Mark Bocek, plus a bunch

of guys you probably have never heard of. If you dont know the 3

names mentioned above, look them up onSherdogto see learn more

about them.

Finally, why am I putting this all together for you,and why am I giving it away for FREE?

Partly because Im a nice guy, but heres the more pragmatic

answer

While I could charge for this guide, or bundle it in a package with one

of my other programs to increase its value, or stick it in myINSIDERS

ZONE(which is the only place I offer my personal support and

guidance nowadays), Im doing this to reach out to a new population

of fitness enthusiasts to EARN YOUR TRUST. There are a lot of

untrustworthy folks peddling their wares online and I want to

separate myself from the pack.

I also want you to sample my approach, not only towards training, but

also towards putting programs (ebooks & videos) together and show

you how I package everything in an easy-to-follow manner that still

gives you the understanding you want (and need) for successful

implementation.
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I figure that people who are looking for info on shoulder injuries

arent your average 15 year old video game playing, pop-drinking

teenaged boy looking for six-pack abs .

Youre a guy or gal who wants to get their injured shoulder back to

the way it used to be so they can get back to doing the things theylove.

For my current athletes, followers and customers, its so they can

punch people in the face and not have to tap out due to a nasty

Americana or Omoplata. Fun stuff let me tell you

For the rest of you, it might be baseball, or tennis, or maybe lifting

weights, or throwing kettlebells around it doesnt matter the info

inside is very complete, holistic and grounded in science.

Which reminds me to mention the fact that Ive got a Bachelor of

Science from one of the top universities in Canada the University of

Waterloo where I was lucky enough to have world-famous low back

rehab expert Dr. Stu McGill as a prof, who has greatly influenced my

training philosophy. So Im not just a pretty face. ;)

Anyway, theres a short bio that hopefully wasnt too yawn-inducing

and gives you an idea of whos behind the info youre about to read.

If you find this little ebook and video combo helps you out and gets

your shoulder back in action and maybe even better than it used tobe, maybe youll be interested in signing up for one of my Premium

Programs to take your fitness to the next level and workout following

my unique methods focused on performance while providing

dramatic physique transformations, almost as a side effect.

If my Premium Programs arent for you, no worries, if I helped you

out, maybe you can just share your story in the Comments section

where you downloaded this PDF. I do read through everything and it

motivates me to continue creating and sharing (FREE) info like this to

help you out. Or just send me some good Karma through the cosmos

I love that stuff.

Peace,


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Intro (and Legal Disclaimer)Before you get into any of the exercises here, note that I am in no

way going to help you with a diagnosis of your injury. That is far

beyond the scope of this ebook and video package.

If you are in some serious pain or you suffered a traumatic event

that led to your shoulder injury, its a good idea that you see a

doc/therapist that can get you diagnosed and possibly take some

x-rays or other imaging to see the extent of the damage. You dont

want to do anything that will further damage your shoulder.

If you do decide to follow any of the recommendations or exercises,

you do so at your own risk. Basically, if you happen to die while doing

anything that I recommend, its not my fault. But I hope that doesnt

happen.

This program is good for the following:

a) Preventing future/recurring shoulder injuriesb) Taking you out of chronic shoulder painc) Taking you from the acute injury stage to high performance

If you fall into any of these categories, then this guide is for you.

Before continuing, I want you to read 2 articles on my blog:

1)http://ericwongmma.com/prinicples-of-efficient-training/

While embarrassing, this article will introduce you to my philosophy

of efficiency, which is why this shoulder injury rehab program isnt

filled with dozens of wimpy little exercises

2)http://ericwongmma.com/shoulder-injuries-rehab-prevention/

Although it has some MMA specific recommendations, it gives you an

overview of exactly what youre going to go through here and some

basic anatomy and terminology.

Done? If not, your computer will explode if you continue. Dont say I

didnt warn you. Im Chinese, I can make these magical technical feats

happen

Oh, and feel free to share this with any friends with a bum shoulder
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Thoracic Spine MobilityThe thoracic spine (T-spine) is intimate with the shoulder. If the T-

spine is not in good shape, the shoulder will be soon to follow.

T-spine extension in particular is what makes the shoulder happy

because without it, the shoulder is unable to move safely through its

full range of motion.

Ive found the following 2 exercises to be the most effective at

improving your T-spine extension.

Perform them daily anytime and always before warming up youre

your workouts. While some people may not be able to improve their

extension because of decades of bad posture, these exercises will

prevent further degeneration.

T-Spine Mobility Exercise #1 - Bench Extension

Remember to inhale as you go over to get maximum extension. Also

make sure youre not moving too much from the lumbar spine you

want T-spine extension here.


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T-Spine Mobility Exercise #2 - Feldenkrais Shoulder-Arm Integrator

The key to this exercise is to stay RELAXED. Do not force the

movements, just let them happen.

Click Here for All Instructional Videos

NOTE: Im not going to repeat exercise cueing instructions here, as

everything is in the videos. That would be against my principle of

efficiency! Did you read that article on the blog? If not, boom goes

your computer!

However, if someone wants to write up some bullet

points and send them to me, Ill put them in this

guide and give you credit, and possibly some kinda

bonus as a thanks. Itd be much appreciated!
http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/http://ericwongmma.com/shoulder-injury-rehab-programhttp://ericwongmma.com/shoulder-injury-rehab-programhttp://ericwongmma.com/shoulder-injury-rehab-programhttp://ericwongmma.com/


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Postural RestorationWikipedia defines posture as the intentionally or habitually

assumed position.

This is a great definition, because posture is both under our control

and a habit.

It is under our control because we can stand up straight on command,

but once our attention goes elsewhere, we will slump to our habitual

position.

Thats why weve got to reset our habitual position to one that is

healthy for the joints.

Restoring a good neutral posture of the shoulder girdle will eliminate

many of the stresses that shoulder problems to happen in the firstplace, persist and recur.

Neutral posture is the position where movement can happen the way

its supposed to, but modern society, poor training habits, or sports

specific skill development can lead to throwing the posture of your

shoulder girdle out of whack.

Refer back to the demonstration in the blog post with raising your

arms overhead and you can feel exactly what poor posture does to

your shoulder.

To restore good posture requires 2 things:

1. Stretching short and tonic muscles2. Strengthening and increasing tone of long, weak muscles

When I talk about tone, Im referring to neuromuscular pathways a

muscle with high neuromuscular tone (tonic) is a muscle that often

works when its not supposed to because the body is used to using it.

Its like doing things with your dominant hand youre used to using

it so even for new tasks you use it automatically.

For example, lots of guys (myself included) have tonic pectoral

muscles from years of too many pushups and bench presses.

During exercises like rows, the pecs can fire more than they should

because they are tonic, rotating the entire shoulder girdle downwards

in the sagittal plane, increasing risk of straining the biceps tendon.


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That was possibly an overly technical example, so heres one thats a

little more layman-friendly: glutes are often inhibited because we sit

on our asses all day, so the low back and hamstring muscles

compensate by increasing their tone and do more work than they

should, creating flat bums around the world.

Now, the most common postural problem increasing risk of shoulderinjuries and pain has been termed upper cross syndrome by

therapist Vladimir Janda.

I wrote about this in the second blog post that I recommended you

read, so Im not going to cover any more here.

To address this, there are 2 stretches, 2 rhythmic stabilization

exercises for muscle activation and 2 isometric exercises for

increasing tone and shortening muscles that work together to help

you restore a healthy, neutral shoulder posture.

Perform the stretches daily until you feel your shoulders rest in

neutral posture better, at which point you can decrease the

frequency.

StretchesStretch #1 - Chest (Pec) Stretch

For this stretch I recommend using a swiss ball as I feel it gives me the

best stretch when compared to doing it on a wall. Use the method I

show you which is to contract and relax the pecs as well as contract

the opposing muscles (scapular retractors).

Its also a good idea to stretch your pecs before you do any pulling

exercises to decrease the tone of the pecs to allow you to fire your

lats, rhomboids and mid/lower traps better. Stretching muscles


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momentarily inhibits them, which is why you mightve heard you

dont want to stretch before training, especially power training

because youll inhibit the muscles that you stretched and lower your

power output. But we are using this same phenomenon for a specific

reason to decrease tone to the muscles that are tonic.

So the blanket statement that you never stretch before/duringtraining doesnt apply to all situations. Its all about understanding,

not dogma.

Stretch #2 - Short Cervical Extensors (Chin Tuck) Stretch

Where the head goes the body follows so if youve got forward

head, like most people in todays computer obsessed society, youve

got to address it. This stretch is the most effective one to do forforward head. Hold for 10 seconds and perform 3 reps each time you

do this exercise. Its a good one to do at the desk every hour too.

Rhythmic Stabilization ExercisesThe exercises in this section look dangerously similar to the shake

weight (ie. masturbation trainer). In fact, you could use a shake

weight and it would work as well, albeit in a slightly different fashion.

But I personally dont need to use this because, well, I hammer a lot

of nails for fun which eliminates my need for it.

The rhythmic stabilization (RS) exercises will help activate sleepy

muscles, but more importantly, they will reprogram your nervous

system to maintain a better position as the normal resting posture.

I first learned about the concept of RS exercises from Eric Cressey a

well-known and excellent strength coach who works with a lot of

baseball players. As such, he deals with a lot of shoulder problems.


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He recommends an exercise done with a partner (seen here) and he

calls it RS, but I believe it would be better named a Random

Perturbation exercise, since there is in fact no rhythm involved

compared to the exercises Im going to show you. This random

perturbation exercise is great for training stability of the shoulder, but

I believe the true RS exercises Im going to show you are better atreprogramming the nervous system for postural restoration.

The repetitive contraction and relaxation produce by RS exercises

results in a lot of info going to and from (afferent/efferent) the

nervous system. Because of all this info if you do the exercises in

proper position (shoulder blades down and back, chest up) then you

are reprogramming your nervous system to remember this as the

new normal.

A set of these exercises is like doing 30 or 40 reps or more, but is a lot

quicker and more fun.

Perform these exercises 3 days/week and/or as part of your dynamic

warmup. 2-3 sets of 30 seconds per arm, but dont go to fatigue, it is

not a muscular exercise, we want you fresh and sending good info

back to the brain, so fatigue often causes bad form and the body will

want to avoid this position, not stay in it.

RS Exercise #1 - Twirling with Arm by Side


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RS Exercise #2 - Twirling with Arm Straight Ahead

Isometric ExercisesThe exercises in this section are isometric exercises. Isometrics are

great for training muscles in a specific range of motion (ROM), which

can shorten them via increased strength in this ROM and increased

tone to the exercised muscles.

Isometric Exercise #1 - Prone Cobra

Perform at the very end of workouts, for 2 sets, 2 reps, holding 30 sec

each rep, resting 30 sec between sets and about 5 sec between reps.

If you cant do it at the start, work up to it.

This exercise is a Paul Chek favourite. Paul is one of my earliest

teachers of exercise program design and hes had a huge influence on

me. Ive spent over $10K on CHEK books and workshops and theyve

been worth every penny. At least thats what I tell myself.


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The Prone Cobra hits your lower traps and external rotators with your

arms down low by your sides.

Try to keep your abs a little bit braced and make extension happen at

the T-spine, keeping your lumbar spine (low back) in neutral and

relaxed. You may also need to squeeze your glutes to do this.

Isometric Exercise #2 - Bench Supported Field Goals

Hit this for 2 sets, 10 reps x 5 sec hold per rep after the Prone Cobra.

Rest 30 sec between sets.

This hits more of your mid-traps and external rotators with your arms

up compared to the Prone Cobra.

Key here is to keep your shoulder blades down and back, which willhelp to balance the strength between the upper and lower traps. The

upper traps are always going to be stronger, but this will help.

IMPORTANT: the other thing youve got to do is reassess your

exercise program design and ensure youre doing more sets of pulling

and external rotation exercises than pushing. At least a 2:1 ratio of

sets of pulling to pushing exercises is recommended. If youre in really

bad posture, you can cut pushing out completely for 2-4 weeks and

go back to a 3:1 ratio, then a 2:1 ratio, which youll probably want to

stay at for life.


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Integrated Movement:PNF PatternsThe term PNF, which stands for Proprioceptive Neuromuscular

Facilitation, is usually associated with the stretching technique I

showed you earlier.

While this stretching technique is a part of the PNF system, PNF is

actually a variety of exercises, stretches and techniques for physical

rehabilitation, not just contract-relax stretching.

[For a good overview of PNF and intense brain exercise from the dense

info, see Mel Siffs exercise bible Supertraining]

PNF movement patterns are 3-dimensional, working you through the

sagittal, frontal and transverse planes of motion. PNF patterns alsoalways cross the midline of the body. These traits accomplish give us

a couple of benefits:

1. They work your joints through the entire 3-D ROM2. They train activation to relaxation of muscles to create

smooth movements

3. They integrate both the left and right sides of the brainPerform these exercises 2 days/week at the end of workouts once

youve restored a better resting posture of the shoulders. Do 2 sets of

10-15 reps at a controlled pace, focusing on technique, not fatigue.

PNF Exercise #1 Sword

Pretend youre a medieval knight and youre about to battle with the

opposing countys king and you want to show him just how big your

sword is to hopefully scare him into submission instead of having to

risk getting decapitated in battle. Or not.

PNF Exercise #2 - Backhand

This exercise is just like you found out your little brat kid just put a

dent in your new car and you Oh wait, this isnt acceptable anymore

damn it I took my beats but now dont get to dish them out to my

next of kin! Too bad, it woulda been kinda fun


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Absolute Isolated StrengthAbsolute isolated strength (AIS) is a big one and Ive seen it deficient

in so many people with bad shoulders extreme weakness in the

external rotators with the arm at the side.

Ive had big strong fighters not be able to move 10 pounds when I get

them to do the side-lying external rotation exercise and more often

than not, theyve got bum shoulders.

Is it the cause? Cant say. Correlation? Definitely.

If youre a guy under 200 lbs, aim to be able to do at least 15 lbs for

12 reps in good form. Over 200 lbs aim for 20 lbs for 12 reps in good

form. 8-10 lbs for 12 reps is a good goal for most females.

Hit this exercise twice a week for 2 sets, doing 8-12 reps through aFULL ROM under control no cheating reps here. This would be

performed before the PNF exercises.

AIS Exercise Side Lying External Rotation

In fact, no cheating reps anywhere. Youre not cheating me only

yourself!


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Gross Strength BalanceOnce you get through the previous phases, you can focus on your

gross strength balance (GSB).

GSB of the shoulder is the strength balance between your horizontal

push and horizontal pull muscles.

The Flat Dumbbell Bench Press and 1-arm Dumbbell Rows are the

exercises of choice here and you want your strength to be either the

same, or higher for the 1-arm Rows.

So if you can push 80 lbs for 4 reps on the DB press, you should be

able to row 80 lbs for 4+ reps.

Make sure you watch the videos to see good form and test yourself

out. Cheating on the 1-arm row is the most common thing and can

lead you to believe you have good GSB when in fact you dont.

If youre a lot stronger in the Flat DB Press, say bye bye to pushing

exercises until your strength becomes balanced.


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Notes On BasicTraining TechniqueRowsA common problem I see with rows is trying to bring the elbows too

far behind the body, like the picture below:

When you try to get your arm as far back as possible, your pecs get

recruited and rotate your shoulder girdle down, promoting two things

we dont want: pec recruitment and downward shoulder rotation.

This position puts a lot of stress on the origin of your biceps and can

cause bicep strains and shoulder, since the short head of the bicep

originates on the coracoid of the acromion and when its workinghard (during heavy rows) and the shoulder is in this position, it puts

excessive stress on it.

So instead, when you row, once your arm reaches your ribcage, stop

trying to pull it any farther back behind you and instead finish the

movement by pulling your shoulder blade and entire shoulder girdle

back (retracting), as I stress in the GSB video.

This goes for 1-arm rows, bent over rows, seated rows and any other

horizontal rowing movement.

Avoid Elbow Behind Body


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Chinups / PullupsWhen performing these exercises, avoid any downward rotation of

the shoulder at the top of the motion and try not to round your back,

which is usually flexion at the T-spine.

Once this starts to happen, stop the set as fatigue prevents you frommaintaining good form.

Pushing ExercisesPushups require you to use good scapulohumeral rhythm. This means

that when youre at the top, your shoulder blades can be protracted.

As you descend, your shoulder blades come together so there is a

smooth rhythm of the shoulder blades.

The thing to avoid with Dips is the same as with rows dont allow

downward rotation of the shoulder girdle. This means you probably

should stop when your elbows hit 90 degrees.

For any type of presses on a bench, you want to keep your shoulder

blades fixed in a retracted position, so with your chest out. This will

prevent overuse of the anterior deltoids and shoulder problems as a

result.

T-Spine Flexion Starting...


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Shoulder Injury Prevention &Rehab Program SummaryOK so lets put this all together on a single page that will be easy to reference

that you can print and follow.

Initial Postural Restoration Phase: 4-8 Weeks

These 4 components will improve the resting posture of your shoulder girdle.

Thoracic Spine Mobility Daily + Before Warmups

1. Bench Extensions 2 passes through T-Spine2. Feldenkrais hand at temple and arms straight, 10-15 reps each

Stretches Daily + After Workouts

1. Chest on SB 2 reps x 3, 5 sec contractions at 50%; also perform beforerowing exercises to decrease tone

2. Chin Tuck 3 reps x 10 sec; also perform during the day if youre an officeworker or drive truck

Rhythmic Stabilization Exercises

Perform 2-3 sets as part of your warmup for 30 sec each.

1. Arm twirling with arm at side2. Arm twirling with arm straight in front of you

Isometric Exercises 2-3 days per week at the end of workouts1. Prone Cobra 2 sets x 2 reps, 30 sec hold per rep, rest 30 sec betweensets and 5 sec between reps

2. Field Goal 2 sets x 10 reps, 5 sec hold per rep, rest 30 sec between setsIntegration Phase

Once youve restored neutral posture, begin using these exercises to make your

shoulders indestructible. Do less of the above exercises in favour of these:

Absolute Isolated Strength 2 days/week at the end of workouts (before PNF)

1. Side-lying External Rotation 2 sets x 8-12 reps, 1 min rest between setsPNF Exercises 2 days/week at the end of workouts

1. Sword 2 sets x 10-15 reps2. Backhand 2 sets x 10-15 reps


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ConclusionFriends, the time has come for me to bid you farewell. I hope this has been an

educational and enlightening read (and watch) for you and will lead you down

the path of shoulder health.

If you found this book and the videos beneficial and like what I have to offer,

there are 3 things to do right now:

#1 Signup to my Newsletter List (Its Worth It)

I write articles, make videos and release cool stuff like this to my subscribers all

the time, best of all, its FREE.

If youre not yet subscribed or youve only been on my list for a little while, Ive

put together a new list that will automatically send you some of the Best Of my

blog and other resources that Ive published over the years.

==>Click Here to Register for my Best of Newsletter list

Do it now!

#2 Leave Me Feedback (Please!)

Like I said, your feedback motivates me and also helps me create better

products, write better articles, and shoot better videos. So let me know how I did

with this ebook + video series on the page below:

==>Click Here to Leave Eric Feedback About This Shoulder Injury Program

#3 Check out my Premium Programs (If Youd Like)

If you really like what Ive done here, please check out the premium programs I

sell in my store. While you may not want anything right now, its a good idea to

see what I have to offer in case youre interested in something in the future.

==>Click Here to Visit Erics Online Store

Thats that! Thanks for paying attention and I hope to hear some great feedback

from you!

Eric
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Indestructible Shoulder Program Ericwongmma

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