He has been active his whole life, and hard work has always been something he enjoys. Some days he heads out on a bike ride feeling tired, then comes home buzzing. But for about nine years, ever since he first tore his shoulder, pain had been changing the way he moved, and he had no idea how much.

His first 12 weeks of rehab were with Cooper. That phase laid the groundwork. His shoulders and back had been stiff and working poorly, and his shoulder blades were hardly moving. Those first three months started to unlock everything so his body could work properly again.

Still, when that phase ended, he wasn’t sure where things stood. His shoulder wasn’t stopping him from doing any of his workouts, but he could still feel some soreness. He was also watching his muscles shrink. “For me that was very upsetting,” he said. “It was in a way frightening, and I was desperate to do something about it.”

So he signed up for three more months.

The Turning Point

The second phase brought in real loading. He had never done strength work before, so he needed guidance to make sure he didn’t jump into something and get hurt.

The biggest eye-opener came during the Cuban press. Using a mirror, he saw right away that his shoulder was hiking up. Because of years of shoulder pain, he had been reaching with his whole shoulder instead of his arm. Once he learned to keep the shoulder down, every other exercise started to click. Now reaching for something is second nature, without that “horrible scrunching up feeling.”

He even saw a swimming video where the coach warned against overreaching and said to keep the shoulder down, which was exactly what he had been practicing.

Results

• Clear gains in muscle definition over the second three months
• Learned to reach overhead without shrugging his shoulder up
• Shoulder no longer holding him back in any of his workouts
• Back in the pool for workouts pain free, a goal that he wanted for years
• His massage therapist found no unnecessary tension and said she had almost nothing left to do

What Changed And Why It Worked?

The first three months got his body moving the right way. The second three months built strength on top of that foundation.

Communication also made a difference. Training every day was new for him, since he was used to alternating hard and easy days. When he gave feedback, the plan was adjusted so he wasn’t doing two hard days in a row. That change made a big difference, and the balance of work turned out to be spot on.

It took his massage therapist, looking from the outside, to show him how far he had come. “It really made me appreciate how good this program has been for me,” he said. For anyone dealing with a sore shoulder for years, his old shoulder tear recovery shows what steady, guided work can do.

What He’d Tell Someone After Their First 12 Weeks

He admits he was apprehensive at first, but because he wants to stay active, the program was exactly what he needed.

“Be confident,” he said. “As long as you put your own effort in and don’t do it by half measures, you will get exceptional results.”

Looking back, he says the decision to continue would be easy. He had been looking for someone who truly understood shoulders and could get things moving in the right direction again. That’s why he’d tell anyone unsure about real shoulder pain relief the same thing: “You’re in good hands.”

He plans to keep building strength until it levels off, and to keep his old shoulder tear recovery going for the long run.