Attempting L-sit pull-ups post labrum tear

[jasonf]

Backstory - Last January, I was attempting to do an L-sit pull-up for the first time. Starting from a dead hang in an L-sit position, I noticed that the movement didn’t feel natural to me as I began to pull. My body is typically at an angle when I do regular pull-ups, whereas the L-sit position seemed to force my torso straight up and down. I tried to overcome the shift in my center of gravity by pulling harder and then felt a pop/slide in my left shoulder joint like a dislocation.
I babied it for awhile and then built some strength and mobility back up, but it continued to bother me throughout the year, especially when doing any type of overhead pressing like pike push ups and obviously when attempting to do an L-sit pull-up

I have since had an MRI and received an opinion from an orthopedic surgeon. He said the tear looks like the kind he sees from patients with shoulder dislocations, so I assume that’s what happened.
He recommended against surgery and suggested building up strength around my shoulder to help stabilize it.
I’ve built strength back up and can do 8-10 strict pull-ups at a time again. I’ve also tried to focus a lot on my shoulder mobility.

I would like to try L-sit pull-ups again, but they don’t feel natural to me and I’m afraid I’m going to hurt myself. Any suggestions on how to do these correctly without putting too much stress on my labrum?

 

[jermyn]

@jasonf I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your shoulder. Training injuries are the worst. For the sake of avoiding that, I think I'd suggest NOT chasing the L-Sit Pull-Up.

The reason, which you noticed yourself, is that the L-Sit Pull-Up FORCES you into a particular position whereas normal Pull-Ups allow you a bit more freedom of movement. Everyones shoulders are different so for some people, having them forced into the line of an L-Sit Pull-Up won't be very comfortable.

I'd suggest swapping to rings since they are adjustable and swapping L-Sit Pull-Ups OUT in exchanged for Mixed Grip Chin-Ups. They'll let you get MUCH stronger than L-Sit Pull-Ups and they'll also let you find path that feels good on YOUR particular shoulders.

 

[jasonf]

@jermyn Thank you! I will definitely give these a try. I’ve been following you on instagram for a while already and appreciate the video you put out

 

[jermyn]

@jasonf Thank YOU! I appreciate that a lot and I hope it helps! Please let me know if I can help more at all!

 

[werik]

@jermyn Hey man,

Been following your posts and replies for years now. Thank for the input you consistently make around here.

Would you prioritize weighted pull-ups or mixed grip pull-ups? My goal is general pulling strength.

 

[jasonf]

@jermyn https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/s/NyADIEIEzJ

This is the problem I believe I experienced, sounds like it’s somewhat common

 

[jermyn]

@jasonf That's something I experience too when I perform OAC Eccentrics in an L-Sit. Right before that point, I drop my legs so that I can pass that part without pain.

 

[marciblue1]

@jasonf I unfortunately don‘t have any answer to your question but just wanted to share some info as I had a very similar experience to you and could not find much information on it back when it happened to me.

I as well subluxated my shoulder while attempting a L-Sit Muscle Up. I had a good base of strength (15+ Pull Ups, 3 Clean Muscle Ups) but never specifically trained the hanging L-Sit position much, and it always felt uncomfortable to hold on my shoulders.

I had an MRI and Ultrasound done but no tear could be found. I experienced strong pain while excercising and it took around a year for me to fully recover, although I worked around it so the healing process might have been slowed by that.

I saw two orthopedist and both told me that depending on your shoulder anatomy the bottom of the L-Sit Pull Up might trigger dislocations irregardless of strength or flexibility.

At the same time I did not train the position sufficiently beforehand to determine that for myself. As I am super happy to be at my old strength and pain free, I did not try to work on this much again, but like you I would like to try it long term.

What I can recommend you is to have a general look at your overhead mobility and shoulder stabiliser strength. I incorporated a lot of stabilizing and strengthening exercises as well as stretching after my injury. I feel it really helped me and holding the L-Hang position feels a lot more comfortable now.

Check out this video on youtube, it send me down the right rabbit hole:

 

[jasonf]

@marciblue1 Thank you. Didn’t realize this was a common problem. Hoping I can get to pain free soon!

 

[hotairballoon]

@jasonf Do tucked knee pull-ups and hang l raises to build strength

 

[josef7]

@jasonf I don’t have any real suggestions, but I had a bunch of shoulder problems 5 years ago and ended up destroying my labrum and needed to get surgery. Recovery was not easy but less than two years after I was doing PRs with overhead press and stronger than I ever was. If you have any questions about surgery or the post-surgery recovery please let me know and I’ll do my best to help.

 

[jasonf]

@josef7 Thank you!