Should I keep kipping while my shoulder is sore?
This program keeps kipping and bar muscle-ups out of training through its first two phases, while the start of the strict pull-up is rebuilt.
A kip gets past the start of the pull with a swing of the hips, so it does not train the part that is stalling: the shoulder blades moving down from a still hang before the elbows bend.
The program's schedule says: Three sessions a week on non-consecutive days, 20 to 30 minutes each. Warm up first with a few minutes of easy movement for the arms and upper back. Keep kipping and muscle-ups out of your training while you are in phases 1 and 2.
That is the program's choice, not a rule about every shoulder. If a coach or clinician who has seen you says otherwise, follow them. Whatever you train, the pain rule applies: pain during a drill above 3 out of 10 means do less, and a shoulder that is worse the next morning means the session was too much.
Warning signs: see a clinician first
Do not start, or stop, if any of these apply to you:
- The pain started with a fall, a dislocation, or a sudden pop or tear, and you cannot lift the arm since.
- Numbness, tingling or pins and needles running down the arm or into the hand.
- Weakness that is getting worse, or the arm suddenly much weaker than the other.
- Pain that wakes you at night and does not ease when you change position.
- Swelling, redness, heat or a fever with the pain.
- Pain in the chest, jaw or left arm with breathlessness or sweating — call emergency services.
- A visible lump, change in shape, or the shoulder looking different from the other.
These are general reasons to have a shoulder examined. They are not a complete list.
Drills for this
Active hang
From a relaxed hang, draw the shoulders down away from the ears and hold, arms still straight.
3 × 10–20 s
Camera checks itScapular pull-up
Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.
3 × 5–10
Camera checks itLowering from the top
Start at the top of a pull-up and lower yourself as slowly as you can to straight arms.
3 × 3–5
What it works
In the program
Phase 1 — Set the shoulder blades — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
Hang again without pain, and learn to draw the shoulder blades down from a hang with straight arms.
The pain rule
- 0–3 out of 10 during the drill: fine, carry on.
- 4–5: do less — a smaller range, fewer reps, or the easier version.
- 6 or more: stop that drill for today.
- Worse the next morning than before the session: that session was too much. Step back.
- 6 or more on waking, any morning: rest the shoulder that day.
Sharp or catching pain, or pins and needles, means stop regardless of the number.
Other questions
- Why can I do kipping pull-ups but not a strict pull-up?
- Why does my shoulder hurt at the start of a pull-up, from a dead hang?
- What muscles start a pull-up?
- Scapular pull-up vs active hang: what is the difference?
- How do I get a strict pull-up back after shoulder pain?
- How much pain is OK during shoulder rehab drills?
- Are band-assisted pull-ups or lowerings better for getting back to a strict pull-up?
- How long should I hang from a bar for shoulder rehab?
A general answer, built from the program and drill pages. It cannot say what is going on in your shoulder; only an examination can.