My advice to everyone, if they want to hear it, is…look after your shoulders. You only get two of them!

I injured my right shoulder in the gym (not RWF!) in December 2019, basically by bad form, on a barbell chest press, and then overdoing it on a single arm cable press. I soldiered on for months I tried 2 different physiotherapists, and spent hundreds of pounds in the process. They could only get me so far. My doctor injected my shoulder in April 2020, but it didn’t help. It was agony. I was struggling to work and sleep. Not good when you are up very early to drive a truck all day, or helping my mate with his gardening round.

I had it scanned in December 2020 at the QMC, using ultrasound, but they couldn’t find anything wrong, except a bit of fluid on my shoulder. By this time I had hardly any range of motion in my shoulder, and I was taking lots of painkillers, just to be able to function.

I had lost a lot of strength in my upper body, and especially in my shoulders, but luckily, I was still able to do press-ups. So at least my chest strength didn’t dip too much.

In between the lockdowns, when the gym was open, Derran kindly offered me a free session. He trains my girlfriend and she had told him what I was going through. He wanted to help me put a program together, so I could still make gains. I still can’t use a straight bar for squatting or benching yet, but we found alternatives. He also helped me to work on exercises to bring back the strength in my back, and try to alleviate some of the pain in my shoulder. In January 2021, I was given another steroid injection into my shoulder. This time, it was done by a specialist who used ultrasound to guide the needle to the correct area, he thought the problem was. I’m happy to say, after only one week, the treatment has helped. It has meant I can start exercising my upper body with intensity again!

I feel so much better now. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe I will never be back to where I was before the injury, but I can work smart, with Derran’s help. I have been getting online tuition with him, but very much looking forward to getting back in the gym properly. I never really thought I would ever want or need a PT. I’ve trained myself for over 33 years, as well as watching countless YouTube videos for inspiration. Derran and the guys at RWF do this for a living, and only have their clients’ best interests at heart.

My goals now, are to be able to do a set of 10 pull-ups again… pain-free…and build up my strength in all the major exercises, and to be stronger than I was before I hurt my shoulder. I think with Derran’s help, that will happen.

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