Padwork and arm pain

[Sibylla]

I´ve been doing kickboxing for a few weeks. Last time the trainer upped the reps on the pads and my arms, shoulders and back started really protesting, almost felt like they cramped up. So I had to take some breaks during the drills. Especially hook punches seems to get the best of me. My shoulders, upper back and neck is quite sore now. Have anyone experienced this?

I really hate stopping in the midst of drills...

[bushido_man96]

Is it the muscles that are getting tired? It could be that the extra reps are just pushing you past your limit, which is good, because it will make you stronger in the long run. That would be my guess. I would say to just try to push through it, if it is just muscle pain, but try not to sacrifice your technique for an extra rep.

If the pain is other than muscle, then you might want to get it checked out.

[Sibylla]

Thanks for that. I have kb tonight, I'll see how it pans out. I´m also going to visit the chiropractor next week.

[joesteph]

[T]he trainer upped the reps on the pads and my arms, shoulders and back started really protesting, almost felt like they cramped up.

Do you find this area, this "ring" around the shoulder girdle, tense as you perform your punching exercise? If so, holding this tight state can lead to cramping.

When I do Soo Bahk Do, I've had my teacher and even her teacher when she guest instructs tell me that I'm way too tense in that area. They've told me it takes from my endurance. I've worked on it and improved.

When I do Jeet Kune Do, there are a lot of reps involved in punches, and my instructor has had me concentrate on being relaxed until almost connecting with the strike to the focus mitts. I will tire more easily if I stay tense/tight around the shoulder girdle. Holding that tension for a sustained period of time can only tax the muscles involved. I lose power in my punches bit-by-bit as more and more reps are performed; this is normal if there are really many reps, but the looser I am, the more power I retain fior a greater challenge.

Since you've said you've been doing kickboxing for only a few weeks, Sibylla, it's possible you were tense before all these new reps and didn't feel the impact on your body. Now that you've got the technique down and the instructor has upped the reps, sustained tension is taking its toll.

[Sibylla]

Yes I definitively feel it "around" the shoulders. I think I need to ask the chiro for some more stretches.

It went better today, not so bad. My partner was also better holding the pads, offering some resistance. The instructor mentioned what you say, staying loose until impact, which means that you actually have to hit something...so maybe I was also overextending a bit the other night.

[bushido_man96]

Ah, the trials of learning....