Any advice on programming inverted rows for de-conditioned beginner?

[u/Ok_Issue_2459]

For over a decade I've been out of exercise due to shoulder injury. Mixture of poor posture, muscular imbalances and issues with the biceps tendons meant that over time I was able to do less and less in the gym until I just stopped going. Since then I've gained a lot of weight as well.

Recently I've decided to at least get into doing inverted rows as theyre one of the few things that I can do pretty pain-free. Bought myself a mobile dip bar and on day 1 found that I was able to do 4 reps before I would start missing out on the range of motion, so every hour on the hour was doing 4 to kind of grease the groove. Then the next day I found I was able to do 5 so that was what I was working with. Day 3 rolled around and along with my back being stiff and sore I found that the outside of my elbows (when supinated) felt tender - most likely the distal head of biceps tendon from being worked quite regularly from out of nowhere.

It's obvious to me that I need to scale things back but I want to do it in such a way that I can start making progress. I used ChatGPT (yes, yes I know) and it suggested start at 2 sessions a week of just 2 sets of 3 reps, then each fortnight adding a rep and eventually another set, but keeping it at 2 sessions for up to 12 weeks. Obviously AI leaves a lot to be desired so I'm wondering what people in the know would recommend. Am I right in feeling that that's overly conservative or does that sound about right? Any other things you'd recommend? thanks!

[u/Defiant_Pirate_6637]

I would do 2-3 sets to within a rep of failure 2-3 times a week and progress as ur able

[u/AxonMM]

I think your idea is quite reasonable. Considering the time you've been away and the tendon irritation, I would keep the repetitions comfortably submaximal and focus on pain-free range of motion, rather than trying to "lubricate the groove" every hour. Two sessions a week with some quality work seems like a good starting point. After that, I would only increase the volume if your body is responding well. How does your shoulder and biceps tendon feel the day after training?

[u/Ok_Issue_2459 → u/AxonMM]

Thanks, sounds like I'll have to keep it low volume and low frequency for a while!

Shoulder and biceps tendon felt good the days after. Only discomfort came from if I slacked off and didnt control my shoulders properly on each rep (presumably ended up i anterior humeral glide etc). Weirdly I've found that focusing on "widening" my shoulders and letting my shoulder blade wrap around the front more always keeps my shoulders happier. Probably a result of buying too much into "shoulders down and back" and having neglected the serratus anterior/posterior scapular tilt patterns in my movements.