handstand push-ups are not for me

[coffeetime]

I decided this year's goal would be to do five handstand push-ups, with the wall behind me (getting free of the wall was not the goal). I met with a trainer to get some ideas on getting from zero to five. He had me practice them with my feet just up on a step riser, to get my hands/arms used to the motion. I was also supposed to do wrist curls with small dumbbells and get a stress ball.

I started slowly with just a few curls with one-pound dumbbells and about four push-ups with my feet on the step. Two days after the first time I did this, my left thumb swelled up and hurt. My husband said maybe I sprained it. Every time I had to shovel snow, it hurt more, though I tried to protect it and not use it for lifting. Deadlifts made it hurt--I had to change my grip. I cut way back on upper-body work and used machines, for weeks. I went on vacation and had no opportunity to work out. Since I play a string instrument, this meant I also didn't practice during that week--but I STILL wasn't better. I saw my doctor and he gave me a clumsy wrist brace with a thumb support. A few days later I went to occupational therapy. By this time the swelling was going down. The OT gave me some hand exercises and a better brace.

Now my chronically messed-up shoulder was back to hurting because I had reduced my upper body workouts so much. So I went back to the gym and in addition to dumbbell work, tried doing the handstand push-ups with my brace on. And the next day, my thumb swelled up and hurt. So at least I know for sure that's what did it, because before I couldn't tell!

I'm kind of bummed, but I can't keep injuring my hand, so I'm going to abandon this goal. I'm switching to Turkish get-ups ASAP. I need to get coached, because I'm too uncoordinated to do them (I've tried). Wish me luck.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Aaaaaargh. How frustrating!

The only possible thing I can think of to try (once your thumb's recovered) is those little push-up stands (or hex dumbbells), so your palms aren't flat on the floor.

For me, handstand push-ups are a non-goal at present because even trying that motion tends to mess up my shoulders; I'm still working out how to find an alignment that my shoulders are happy with just with overhead presses.

On the plus side, Turkish get-ups are a really awesome exercise and have spin-off benefits for all sorts of things.

[coffeetime]

I'm feeling fortunate that my experiment didn't hurt my shoulders. Overhead pulling, like pull-ups, does produce this horrible clunking sound in my left shoulder as my hands/arms return to normal position, but it doesn't hurt. My shoulders are so much better now that I work them more. I have been assigned many physical therapy exercises for them but this is the one that helps most: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12i9VmaIpx0 with some modifications. I use 3-lb dumbbells, never anything heavier. I do the Y, then the T, then the T with my hands rotated (so, palms just turn about 180). The W portion I do on an incline bench, one arm at a time and I use more weight (because I can). So when I'm experiencing shoulder pain in general everyday life, I add this exercise back in whenever I'm doing upper body work in the gym, usually in between my first and second circuit so I'm warm but not too tired.

I will investigate push-up bars for regular push-ups. Maybe they would make burpees less excruciating (they bother my back)?

[rydra_wong]

Overhead pulling, like pull-ups, does produce this horrible clunking sound in my left shoulder as my hands/arms return to normal position, but it doesn't hurt.

Yes, I've got one shoulder that makes amazing crunching and grinding noises when I move the scapula around -- but it's always done that since my teens, and never hurts. I did some Googling and apparently yeah, apparently some people just have noisy shoulders.

I've got a decent rehab/prehab routine for strengthening my shoulders now, and am working out how to find an alignment for shoulder presses which doesn't lead to pinching/impingement. But obviously handstand push-ups limit your options for alignment, so I'm regarding them with extreme caution. Maybe one day I'll get to a point where my shoulders will let me try them ...

Maybe they would make burpees less excruciating (they bother my back)?

Huh. Which bit of your back hurts?