Why do my shoulders get sore when I'm Boxing ?

[Rhazidin]

Hello, 

I have 8 months of training in Muay Thai going on 9, but I still can't overcome this problem, and I don't know what to do

Every time I'm Boxing or practicing my punches on the heavy bag, after at least 5 minutes on the heavy bag, the muscles in my shoulders and traps get sore, forcing me to lower my hands and give my shoulders a few seconds (at least 5 seconds) of rest before putting my hands up again to protect my head and chin. All these months I've been enduring the pain from the muscle soreness, have been getting better at enduring the pain from the muscle soreness, but I'm getting tired of enduring it, I don't want the muscle soreness to happen at all, I checked with a doctor everything was fine with my body, so why is this muscle soreness happening ?

 

can someone please help me ? Is this even normal ?

[LengLeng]

11 hours ago, Rhazidin said:

Hello, 

I have 8 months of training in Muay Thai going on 9, but I still can't overcome this problem, and I don't know what to do

Every time I'm Boxing or practicing my punches on the heavy bag, after at least 5 minutes on the heavy bag, the muscles in my shoulders and traps get sore, forcing me to lower my hands and give my shoulders a few seconds (at least 5 seconds) of rest before putting my hands up again to protect my head and chin. All these months I've been enduring the pain from the muscle soreness, have been getting better at enduring the pain from the muscle soreness, but I'm getting tired of enduring it, I don't want the muscle soreness to happen at all, I checked with a doctor everything was fine with my body, so why is this muscle soreness happening ?

 

can someone please help me ? Is this even normal ?

Is it pain or are your shoulders simply tired? Tired arms and shoulders come with boxing, it is tough holding up your guard and punch. Building strength can help (pushup, pull up and other strength exercises tailored to your body) and just getting used to it. It's an uncomfortable sport. L

If you have tightness or other pain, hanging can help. Just hang from a pull up bar (feet not touching the ground) it gives your spine a release. 

I had shoulder pain (think it was inflammation caused by weird clinching move) for almost a year. Three times I did this 20 min yoga that goes deep into the fascia and I was fine. Just ignore the hippie talk. But some poses hurt a bit FYI. 

 

För general alignment and pain issues I find this account very useful to follow: https://instagram.com/yogabycandace?utm_medium=copy_link

(not sure why the video appears twice can't delete sorry) 

[Rhazidin]

the pain is more like a tired feeling, that my shoulders and traps are getting tired from holding my guard up/keeping my hands up while punching ?

Is there any thing that can be done about this ? I am getting better about enduring the pain, but is this normal ?

[LengLeng]

Yes it is very normal to be tired. Everyone training muay thai is tired. Keep going. Pushups, pullups, weighted skipping rope, and other upper body exercises will help you get stronger. 

[Rhazidin]

so basically I have no choice, but to endure the pain, and as time goes on, get better at enduring the pain, is that what you are saying ?

also how often should I train in Muay Thai then ? It can't be everyday because I tried that and my shoulders get tired quicker if I don't give myself at least a day to 2 days of rest.

[LengLeng]

You are mixing pain and tired... Maybe try see a doc first to make sure this is not an injury?

If not, work on shoulder strength and maybe wear lighter gloves? 

 

[Rhazidin]

sorry about the confusion, I already saw a doctor, he said my shoulders were fine, so basically I have to get use to the tired feeling and work hard to endure the tired feeling in my shoulders right ?

 

also what shoulder strength exercises would you say I do ? Will these shoulder exercises make sure my shoulders will never be tired from keeping my guard up/hands up when boxing or muay thai ?

[LengLeng]

This is only my (one) opinion. I trained muay thai and lethwei for about 3 years and I only have 3 professional fights. But here goes:

Things will be hard. Get used to it. 

[Rhazidin]

out of curiosity, do you also get the tired feeling in your shoulders ?

[LengLeng]

I'm tired everywhere. And I have various old injuries and pains that come and go. 

My gym was in a bombing incident and my teachers arrested and gym confiscated by the army (I'm in Myanmar you might have heard of the coup here). So I'm training outside in a park. It's uncomfortable training with shoes. Training barefoot is better but the ground and small stones hurt and my feet sometimes bleed so I have to wear shoes. We don't have enough shin guards (coup situation) so sparring, even very light, can be painful. It's rainy season so lots of times it's raining. And plenty mosquitoes. Also people passing by giving unsolicited advice. I don't sleep well, I have nightmares. So the early mornings are tough. And it's uncomfortable. 

I still train as well as I can. Learning. Embracing adversity. When my morning run feels heavy I do a body scan. Are my toes ok? My feet? My ankles? My shins? My calves? Usually, it's only a small part of my body struggling. So why let that part dictate my general feeling?

I love my training. And the fatigue and pain. 

Endurance training psychology told me: it's not how you feel physically. It's how you feel about how you feel physically. And endure discomfort.

You might focus too much on this pain. Or you might need to increase strength and only a coach that meets you in person could give proper advice.

But in short. Martial arts... it's hard and heavy and painful and you are almost always tired. But meaningful doesn't equal comfort. 

Just my 2 cents. 

[Oliver]

Best to look at the positives. Like, pretty soon other stuff will start hurting even more, so you'll completely forget about your shoulders. Eventually, from all the running and skipping, the legs can feel like old rusted iron when you're not at the gym. Then, to fix it you'll be at a foot massage while drinking a pumpkin spice latte, and it will be the most heavenly feeling ever. Kinda makes the training worth it, just for that.

So, ya know. Every cloud.

[Rhazidin]

So one more time I ask this, the tiredness in the shoulders will never go away, I must continue to get better at enduring the tiredness in my

shoulders ?

 

Also Leng Leng, I am sorry to hear what happened to your gym and your country, I hope things improve for you. You have my utmost respect for being able to endure all those problems in your life and the body exhaustion of Muay Thai

[LengLeng]

1 hour ago, Rhazidin said:

So one more time I ask this, the tiredness in the shoulders will never go away, I must continue to get better at enduring the tiredness in my

shoulders ?

 

Also Leng Leng, I am sorry to hear what happened to your gym and your country, I hope things improve for you. You have my utmost respect for being able to endure all those problems in your life and the body exhaustion of Muay Thai

It's completely normal that you get tired in your shoulders after a while. And you take a break and drop your guard. That's when my teachers either smash my face with the pads or hold the pads higher to make it even harder. 

This is my current training schedule (no bag) which is for me "easy" and just maintenance: 3k run. Warm up. 4 min shadow boxing. 6x4 min pad rounds focusing on one specific combination. 2x3 min sparring. 1x4 regular padrounds. 10 min leg work (agility duck walks, low squat jumps) 10 minutes shoulder plus abs. I complement this training with weigh training once a week and I also do swimming and yoga. 

My shoulders hurt at the end of my rounds. I drop them without noticing. My legs cry during agility work. But I don't focus too much on it because I expect it. 

You will get better at enduring the fatigue or tiredness if you do more pushup, pullups, hanging, weighted skipping rope and shadow boxing holding dumbbells. It's hard measuring other people's pain and there might be an alignment issue, so yoga could be an idea for you as well. 

But what Oliver and I are trying to say (I'm not looking for sympathy but yeah the situation is shit and thank you, I appreciate it) is that tiredness and pain are part of it. You learn to endure it.

How much tiredness is tolerable to you, only you can answer it. 

[Oliver]

5 hours ago, LengLeng said:

and shadow boxing holding dumbbells.

That. That, right there.

Then again, if there actually is something wrong with your shoulder like you legit tore it or broke something, and you push through and make it worse, then it's not my fault. It's hers, she's the one femsplaining. 

[LengLeng]

5 hours ago, Oliver said:

That. That, right there.

Then again, if there actually is something wrong with your shoulder like you legit tore it or broke something, and you push through and make it worse, then it's not my fault. It's hers, she's the one femsplaining. 

He's right I'm definitely femsplaining.

Today I asked my trainer: Can I do xyz because I had pains. 

He told me: It's up to you. I cannot see your inside. 

I think that captures the philosophy. Only you can know your limits and what's pain, what's soreness, what's fatigue, what's over-training? 

Best of luck. It's a tough sport that requires a lot of introspection. 

 

[LengLeng]

Another trick I was taught having a knee issue: working on southpaw stance so I limit pressure on my knee and in a fight won't expose it too much (was my front leg knee).

So if you have pain in your shoulders, work more on keeping distance and using your legs more so you can drop your hands at safe distance but still being able to attack. A teep replaces a jab any time .

[Rhazidin]

Thank you for clearing that up, then I guess I should continue with what I have been doing, however I have to ask, should I train everyday to better my endurance to the tiredness in my shoulders or should I still give myself 1-2 days of rest ? 

I know you said that decision is up to me, but I just don't know, what would you all do if you were having my situation ?

but I'll definitely give shadowboxing with dumbells a try since you both are confident in the exercise

[MuayPard]

It's very possible you're just way too tight in the upper body when striking. When I first started I would tense up at the shoulders and hands and it would cause my shoulders to tire out much more quickly. At first was very difficult not to do this, but now I've been training longer my shoulders are much more relaxed and I never really have issues keeping my hands up..

Also in my experience the more I train, the less this is an issue. If you're taking 2-3 days just to recover shoulder soreness before being able to train again then something has got to be wrong there, either you're too tight, your form is making your shoulders work excessively or perhaps you're just not eating enough protein to recover properly?

Edited June 25, 2021 by MuayPard

[Rhazidin]

what do you mean by too tight ?  

Edited June 26, 2021 by Rhazidin