Can I Still Workout With A Rotator Cuff Injury?

Question: Any suggestions for workouts that can be done while waiting for a rotator cuff injury to heal? Also, in your opinion, after a rotator cuff injury are people ever able to really get back to the workouts / weights they were used to? – Sheri

Answer: Sheri,
If you are concerned about losing fitness during your upper body injury, I would recommend using a stationary bike as an alternative to running, or swimming, or any exercise using movement of your shoulders. Lower extremity body weight exercises such as lunges, squats, can also be implemented. As far as getting back to workouts after a rotator cuff injury, it all depends on the extent of the injury. With most Physical Therapy offices, after the rehab is over, it means that you are cleared to perform daily physical activity, which mainly consist of low intensity movements. High impact activities such as lifting weights takes a lot longer for you to regain the same strength you had prior to the injury. I would speak with your Physical Therapist and see what he/she has to say about your rotator cuff injury. Hope this helps!

– Kwesi (Kwesi Peters, CPT, Community Manager)

Question: I have a question about L-arginine and Glutamine. Do they help to decrease fat and increase muscle mass? Do you have any experience with these supplements? – Markku

Answer: L-arginine and Glutamine are two types of amino acids, which means they are two of the 20 building blocks of proteins. Consuming them in supplement form can help build muscle mass, but they can also be found in natural foods. Also, nutrition or supplements are only part of the entire puzzle of building muscle. You need the necessary stimulus to start the process, which is accomplished through resistance training. While we have written a lot of articles on the efficacy of supplements, we will add glutamine and l-arganine to the list!

– Kwesi (Kwesi Peters, CPT, Community Manager)

Question: Question: Will doing this v-up abs exercise help me burn more fat? Thanks – Christopher

Answer: Any form of exercise is more effective when you have your nutrition dialed in. Nutrition typically has the biggest impact on your exercise goals, particularly if your goal is to lose body fat. Strength training helps to shape your body and encourage your body to preserve lean muscle while instead using fat for fuel. In short, this exercise will be most effective as part of a complete workout and nutrition program. Hope that answers your question!

– Kristin (Kristin Rooke, CSCS, CPT)

Question: Thanks for the article, Charlie!
In your experience, what’s the body fat % where most chest fat is gone? I’m aware that every body stores fat differently, but is there an approximate target range to strive for?
I’ve gone down from 25%~ to 14%~, and while I feel great and have very little stomach fat, the chest fat remains stubborn. It has definitely been reduced, but it’s still enough to make me uncomfortable. I am planning on dropping down to 10% anyway, but having an idea of where the goal-post lies would be comforting. – Andreas

Answer: Great question, Andreas. I wish I had a definitive answer, but as you said everyone is different. But since you asked, here are my thoughts:If you have very little stomach fat at 14%, then it is likely that most of the remaining extra fat is in your chest. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that a significant portion of every pound of fat you lose will come from your chest. Let’s look at how much fat would be lost if a 200 lb. person went from 14% to 10% (and I am using this number because you didn’t mention how much you weigh) using the builtlean calculation from this article: https://www.builtlean.com/2011/08/24/lean-body-mass-definition-formula/

Lean Body Mass = Body Weight – (Body Weight x Body Fat %)
Lean Body Mass = 200 – (200 x 14 %) = 172 pounds (28 pounds of fat)

Now assuming your lean mass stays the same, we can use the same equation but this time the variable is the body weight:
172 = x -(x)(10%)
172 = x – 0.1x
172 = 0.9x
body weight = 191.1
Subtracting the lean body mass from the body weight will give you the fat mass.
Fat mass: 191.1-172 = 19.1 pounds.

Thus, to get to 10% from 14%, a 200 lb. person would need to lose about 9 pounds of fat (28-19.1). If most of this came from the chest (and it should as you have said your belly fat is minimal), I suspect our example would be very happy at 10%. If your weight is significantly more or less, then plug in your weight and see what comes up. If you want to post those numbers I would be more than happy to comment. Let us know!

If my math is wrong, I truly apologize.

– Charlie Seltzer ( Charlie Seltzer, MD, CES, DABOM)

Question: Are there no arm exercises in the BuiltLean Program? – Brook

Answer: Arms exercises are in the program, but they are optional. I haven’t done many arm exercises in over 2 years and my body looks and feels better because of it. If you have small arms and want to get them bigger, then doing some extra arm exercises makes sense. If not, I just don’t think they are necessary!

– Marc Perry ( Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT)