Skip to main content

Alternate Front Raises & Crunches & Roman Chair

getting cramps in legs and popping sounds in shoulder

Solitudent
Solitudent g Onur Kaya
34 Post(s)
34 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: July 7, 2016
Posted

Hi, got two questions, just came back from doing my shoulder, triceps and ab exercises wanted get two things that's been bugging me for some time.

 

1) First, newer, more recent one; my problem with Alternate Front Raises. I do this with a 6 kg dumbbell & try to do it as slow & controlled as I can in the negative portion of the rep. Homewer, there is a popping sound in my left shoulder near the middle portion of the movement and it feel doesn't feel very comfortable in my other shoulder either. I wondered if this was a form problem and googled it. Scott seems to be doing it while holding dumbbells vertically while other guys in other videos seem to be doing it with a horizontal grip. I did it with a horizontal grip too.Is there a difference?

I also keep my arms as straight as possible, am I contracting my other muscles too much or doing it in a way that puts my muscle in a harsh position?

 

2) Second, my oldest and most annoying problem, I've been having this ever since I started my workouts, it didn't seem important at the time and my trainer told me it would go away but it didn't. Always happens during my crunches on this bench or chair I put a photo of around here(I don't know it's name) and during my Roman Chair Sit-Ups. It's cramps on the upper-outer portion of my leg(what's that muscle called, rectus femoris?). Goddamn cramps that don't go away. I tried opening my legs a little but it didn't change anything, sometimes I have to stop doing my crunches/sit-ups and go do some excercise. Am I doing something wrong?

William_Steinset
William_Steinset p William Steinset
1K Post(s)
1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: December 12, 1969
Posted
Posted By: Solitudent

Hi, got two questions, just came back from doing my shoulder, triceps and ab exercises wanted get two things that's been bugging me for some time.

 

1) First, newer, more recent one; my problem with Alternate Front Raises. I do this with a 6 kg dumbbell & try to do it as slow & controlled as I can in the negative portion of the rep. Homewer, there is a popping sound in my left shoulder near the middle portion of the movement and it feel doesn't feel very comfortable in my other shoulder either. I wondered if this was a form problem and googled it. Scott seems to be doing it while holding dumbbells vertically while other guys in other videos seem to be doing it with a horizontal grip. I did it with a horizontal grip too.Is there a difference?

I also keep my arms as straight as possible, am I contracting my other muscles too much or doing it in a way that puts my muscle in a harsh position?

 

2) Second, my oldest and most annoying problem, I've been having this ever since I started my workouts, it didn't seem important at the time and my trainer told me it would go away but it didn't. Always happens during my crunches on this bench or chair I put a photo of around here(I don't know it's name) and during my Roman Chair Sit-Ups. It's cramps on the upper-outer portion of my leg(what's that muscle called, rectus femoris?). Goddamn cramps that don't go away. I tried opening my legs a little but it didn't change anything, sometimes I have to stop doing my crunches/sit-ups and go do some excercise. Am I doing something wrong?

I have popping in my elbows, have had it since 14 years of age (im 19 now) and it has never been a problem. As long as it does not hurt or is uncomfortable it is not an issue. You should keep your arms straight, I usually do them with an ever so slightly bend. Most important thing is to adjust if you do not feel like your shoulders are doing work. If other muscles get activated, you will definently feel it.

 

Cramps are the worst, most painfull and annoying thing to ever exist and it happens because the muscle involuntarily contracts on its own. When you get cramps, stop working out, stretch the muscle, breathe relaxed, be relaxed and drink water. Make sure you have enough magnesium in your diet, this will help avoiding cramps. Also try avoiding the exercises that give you the cramp, you can do without them.

MS Athelete / Super Hermanite / SHF
JoeHurricane
JoeHurricane p Jordan Matthews
1.5K Post(s)
1.5K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2013
Posted
Posted By: Solitudent

Hi, got two questions, just came back from doing my shoulder, triceps and ab exercises wanted get two things that's been bugging me for some time.

 

1) First, newer, more recent one; my problem with Alternate Front Raises. I do this with a 6 kg dumbbell & try to do it as slow & controlled as I can in the negative portion of the rep. Homewer, there is a popping sound in my left shoulder near the middle portion of the movement and it feel doesn't feel very comfortable in my other shoulder either. I wondered if this was a form problem and googled it. Scott seems to be doing it while holding dumbbells vertically while other guys in other videos seem to be doing it with a horizontal grip. I did it with a horizontal grip too.Is there a difference?

I also keep my arms as straight as possible, am I contracting my other muscles too much or doing it in a way that puts my muscle in a harsh position?

 

2) Second, my oldest and most annoying problem, I've been having this ever since I started my workouts, it didn't seem important at the time and my trainer told me it would go away but it didn't. Always happens during my crunches on this bench or chair I put a photo of around here(I don't know it's name) and during my Roman Chair Sit-Ups. It's cramps on the upper-outer portion of my leg(what's that muscle called, rectus femoris?). Goddamn cramps that don't go away. I tried opening my legs a little but it didn't change anything, sometimes I have to stop doing my crunches/sit-ups and go do some excercise. Am I doing something wrong?

Hey hey @Solitudent!

 

1) Make sure your shoulder blades are retracted too. Like William said, if there's no pain, it's probably not too big a deal. As for horizontal vs. vertical positioning of the dumbbell...it's really personal preference. The movement is still more or less the same however you hold it.

 

2) Cramps can come about because you don't have enough salt in your diet too, so make sure you are getting enough salt. You might also need to try not to contract your leg muscles as much. Use them to keep you in place and stable, but try not to make them tight, if that makes sense.

 

Hope this helps!

SHF Athlete MS Athlete Partial Fitness YouTuber
Solitudent
Solitudent g Onur Kaya
34 Post(s)
34 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: July 7, 2016
Posted
Posted By: JoeHurricane

Hey hey @Solitudent!

 

1) Make sure your shoulder blades are retracted too. Like William said, if there's no pain, it's probably not too big a deal. As for horizontal vs. vertical positioning of the dumbbell...it's really personal preference. The movement is still more or less the same however you hold it.

 

2) Cramps can come about because you don't have enough salt in your diet too, so make sure you are getting enough salt. You might also need to try not to contract your leg muscles as much. Use them to keep you in place and stable, but try not to make them tight, if that makes sense.

 

Hope this helps!

1) That again. Retracting shoulder blades. I don't know how to do that comfortably without feeling like I'm doing wrong. I never tried that with front raises but with lateral raises it made the excercise pretty weird. Might be that I don't know how to retract my shoulder blades without retracting my shoulders themselves. I'll try to perfect my form at home with dumbbells.

 

2) It makes a lot of sense actually because maybe it's because my program kept changing and I dealt with some muscle loss due to a disease flare-up(I have Ulcerative Colitis), some excercises didn't get any easier in the 3 months I've been working out, it's like Roman Chair Sit-ups stayed the same all the time. So maybe I'm contracting the wrong muscles, maybe I'm contracting my legs and glutes too much to raise my upper body. By the way I'm sure I'm getting enough Magnesium in my diet but I've been specifically avoiding salt because I'm using corticosteroids. Last time I didn't check my salt intake, my face and neck became so big, I walked around like a giant sperm for months.

JoeHurricane
JoeHurricane p Jordan Matthews
1.5K Post(s)
1.5K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2013
Posted
Posted By: Solitudent

1) That again. Retracting shoulder blades. I don't know how to do that comfortably without feeling like I'm doing wrong. I never tried that with front raises but with lateral raises it made the excercise pretty weird. Might be that I don't know how to retract my shoulder blades without retracting my shoulders themselves. I'll try to perfect my form at home with dumbbells.

 

2) It makes a lot of sense actually because maybe it's because my program kept changing and I dealt with some muscle loss due to a disease flare-up(I have Ulcerative Colitis), some excercises didn't get any easier in the 3 months I've been working out, it's like Roman Chair Sit-ups stayed the same all the time. So maybe I'm contracting the wrong muscles, maybe I'm contracting my legs and glutes too much to raise my upper body. By the way I'm sure I'm getting enough Magnesium in my diet but I've been specifically avoiding salt because I'm using corticosteroids. Last time I didn't check my salt intake, my face and neck became so big, I walked around like a giant sperm for months.

Oh man, that's not good about what happened last time you didn't check your salt intake! I guess in that case, keep an eye on it, you don't want that to happen again! But lack of salt could still be playing a part in your cramps - maybe you could increase your intake just a little bit and avoid getting that bloated face?

 

As for retracting your shoulder blades, the more you practice it, the better you will get at it. Try doing this - shrug your shoulders up like you would for a normal shrug, then pull them backwards while still holding that shrugged position. Then simply lower them back down to their normal position, while still pulling backwards.

SHF Athlete MS Athlete Partial Fitness YouTuber
Solitudent
Solitudent g Onur Kaya
34 Post(s)
34 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: July 7, 2016
Posted
Posted By: JoeHurricane

Oh man, that's not good about what happened last time you didn't check your salt intake! I guess in that case, keep an eye on it, you don't want that to happen again! But lack of salt could still be playing a part in your cramps - maybe you could increase your intake just a little bit and avoid getting that bloated face?

 

As for retracting your shoulder blades, the more you practice it, the better you will get at it. Try doing this - shrug your shoulders up like you would for a normal shrug, then pull them backwards while still holding that shrugged position. Then simply lower them back down to their normal position, while still pulling backwards.

Yeah, it was my fault though, they told me I should watch my salt intake and I did listen, until one day I just went crazy, said "fuck it" and started stuffing myself with roasted corn kernels lol. Then it was just too hard to calm the storm, I was ravenous all the time. I gained weight so fast, my skin cracked in certain body parts, marks are partially visible.

 

By the way I had blood test done yesterday and it says my magnesium levels are higher than normal but sodium levels are within normal range. So I must be getting enough salt through my diet. I also did an ab workout yesterday and sadly got short cramps again. Well, at least I'm a bit sore, so I'll call that a win, albeit a small one.

JoeHurricane
JoeHurricane p Jordan Matthews
1.5K Post(s)
1.5K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2013
Posted
Posted By: Solitudent

Yeah, it was my fault though, they told me I should watch my salt intake and I did listen, until one day I just went crazy, said "fuck it" and started stuffing myself with roasted corn kernels lol. Then it was just too hard to calm the storm, I was ravenous all the time. I gained weight so fast, my skin cracked in certain body parts, marks are partially visible.

 

By the way I had blood test done yesterday and it says my magnesium levels are higher than normal but sodium levels are within normal range. So I must be getting enough salt through my diet. I also did an ab workout yesterday and sadly got short cramps again. Well, at least I'm a bit sore, so I'll call that a win, albeit a small one.

Well it's good to hear your sodium is in the normal range. As for those cramps, it's probably coming down to the fact you are contracting your quads so hard when you have them hooked under the pads. Try your best to use your legs for support, but don't squeeze them too too much, see if that helps :)

SHF Athlete MS Athlete Partial Fitness YouTuber
muscular strength
 You must be a Member to view or reply this tread. Please Log In or become a Member .