I had a car accident about 20 years ago and lost a lot of my right trapezius muscle and the muscle that covers my shoulder blade (scapular?). As well as that, I have always been weak as far as chest muscles go. I started doing push-ups about 5 months ago and have gone from a max of 5 in one go to 18. I now do about 100 reps every second day. I have noticed that the muscles under my armpits have expanded but my right shoulder has developed a chronic ache and actually feels weaker and less stable than before. Has anyone got any ideas regarding building strength in my chest and shoulders without damaging my right shoulder further? Thanks.
That's it. Why a recipe for disaster? What else should I do? By the way, I can't afford gym fees so just bodyweight exercises at home.
I've thought of that. Unfortunately, I can't afford to pay gym fees or swimming pool fees at the moment.
You don't. Your shoulder is made up of many muscles which need to be kept balanced strengthwise or the joint is at risk of injury. The strength of your chest is probably not the issue, more likely it's your chest is overpowering your upper back which is placing stress on the joint causing the pain. With your past injuries I'm not sure what you're capable of. The usual course of action is to do less chest work and do more back/upper back work.
Without knowing what's wrong with your shoulders, I can't really recommend any exercise specifically. Try looking into shoulder rehab exercises, most of those use light dumbbells or resistance bands. They're pretty cheap at thrift stores, craigslist, or yard sales, and if not, you can always find stuff around the house as a substitute. http://www.strengthspeedagility.com/the-best-shoulder-rehab-exercises/ [yt]AK8h8toU4gc[/yt] But generally speaking, you want a balanced strength routine esp for shoulders. So do exercises that will strengthen your posterior and lateral deltoids, in addition to your anterior deltoids, and supplement them with shoulder rotations. And if you're doing strength training exercises for your chest, also do ones for your upper back. The reasons for not doing too much bench presses applies to pushups as well. Here's a nice writeup, better than what I would've said: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa85.htm And something to read if you have a possible shoulder impingement (HINT: be sure to read the part about secondary impingement): http://nealhallinan.com/blog/fixyou...bench-pressing-and-bone-spurs-the-connection/
