Is It A Muscle Activation Problem, or A Training Dosage Problem?
Think you need to train your inferior trapezius muscle in isolation?
This idea has got to go.
The idea that this muscle becomes weak by “overusing” the lats is just not true. It really makes no damn sense.
A recent systematic review on muscle activation ratios demonstrates that during the pull-up exercise the activation goes like this (in order):
Inferior trapezius
Pectoralis major
Bicep brachii
Latissimus dorsi
As you can see, the inferior trapezius muscle is being used all the time with pulling. The idea that we need to train “drawing the scapulas down” has never made sense to me.
If we use this muscle all the time while climbing training, and it’s possibly overworked, how does doing low intensity isolation exercise help with that problem?
If you have pain in your shoulder or your movement feels different on one side, it’s way more likely a training dosage problem than a muscle activation problem.
Image courtesy of Complete Anatomy
a few things to consider
Change the exercise. There’s plenty to choose from!
Manipulate the set:rep scheme of your current exercise.
Use a different load and velocity.
Cluster your repetitions when going heavy (3-seconds between each rep)
Take one more day off each week this month.
Sleep more.
Key takeaways:
There are so many options to help alleviate the symptoms of an athletic lifestyle. Blaming the structure is way too simple to be helpful.
Your inferior trapezius is already being trained while climbing.
Shoulder pain is more likely a training dosage problem than a muscle activation problem.