It’s true.
A transformation after 5 years of shoulder issues can happen — and often much faster than people think.
I know that sounds bold.
That’s why I want you to meet Claudia.
Claudia (a former IFBB bikini athlete & fitness pro) first subluxed her shoulder during training back in 2016.
What she expected to be a simple setback turned into a 5-year cycle of:
nagging aches
worrying “clicks”
random spikes of discomfort
hesitation every time she lifted
a constant fear she’d make things worse
She tried working around it:
avoiding overhead work
going lighter on pressing
stretching daily
- Physical therapy
backing off training
resting through every flare-up
Nothing stuck.
Her shoulder felt fragile, unpredictable, and unreliable.
WHY NOTHING WORKED
Like most people, Claudia believed:
“If I’m in pain, something must be injured.”
That belief shaped every solution she tried:
Rest
Stretches
Mobility drills
Massage
Light rehab exercises
But none of it worked…
- She took time off from training to rest & recover which reduced discomfort, but also reduced capacity. She felt better temporarily… but weaker & more fragile when she returned to training.
- Stretches eased her tightness & pain temporarily, but they didn’t improve strength, stability or movement quality. Her shoulder didn’t feel “safer”, so the tightness always came back.
- The physio & mobility drills lacked progression… weren’t enough to prepare her body for the demands of training. There’s a big gap between a 3kg external rotation & a 15kg shoulder press. She never crossed it.
THE REAL PROBLEM
Pain wasn’t the problem.
She wasn’t injured.
She didn’t need more time to ‘rest & heal’
She needed to improve movement capacity instead.
Here’s what I mean:
🚨 Her Body Lacked confidence
Your nervous system acts like a bodyguard. If it believes certain movements aren’t safe — even if they are — it steps in to protect you:
-
tightening muscles
-
restricting range
-
creating hesitation
-
amplifying discomfort
After years of flare-ups, failed attempts, stopping mid-set & avoiding certain movements …the ‘bodyguard’ had collected so much negative evidence that her shoulder stopped trusting normal loads.
It wasn’t pain caused by damage. It was pain caused by over-protection.
🚨 Strength Deficits in Key Ranges
Most people believe more mobility automatically means fewer problems.
That’s not how the body works.
Claudia has long arms and naturally high mobility — which means her shoulder experiences much higher forces & risk of dislocations / injury in certain positions compared to someone with shorter levers or stiffer joints.
Because those key positions lacked strength & stability:
-
her nervous system stepped in
-
muscles tightened to “protect”
-
movements felt sketchy or uncomfortable
-
she hesitated under load
-
normal training felt unpredictable
Her body said: “I don’t feel safe here yet.”
Low capacity → protective signals → tightness, hesitation, and discomfort.
🚨 Ill-fitted Mechanics
Claudia was performing upper body movements exactly the way fitness content & PT courses teach them.
But that didn’t match her anatomy.
long arms (long levers)
narrower rib cage
looser joints
Reality is, standard movement patterns were uncomfortable for her, high-risk & increased the chances of joint degradation over the years.
The Smarter Fix:
Rebuilding from the Ground Up
When Claudia came to me, we didn’t chase pain relief.
We rebuilt the foundation her shoulder needed to feel safe under load.
Here’s what we focused on:
1/ Restore confidence in movement
Her shoulder had spent years “on edge.” So the first step was creating movements her nervous system actually felt safe in:
controlled ranges
slow tempos
predictable progressions
Modifications to calm sensitivity
This reduced the need for the nervous system to guard or tighten up — so she could start rebuilding strength & confidence in the joint again.
2/ Rebuild strength & performance
Once her body felt more confident, we could address weak links & build foundational strength / stability through a full ROM to protect her shoulder.
Weekly updates focussed on:
How she moved
How she responded
What her shoulder tolerated
Where she needed more strength
What needed refining next
And once she had the foundational strength & stability she needed, we gradually reintroduced movement she’d previously avoided:
- pressing
pulling
deadlifts
overhead work
But this time? Her shoulders were more stable, more resilient, and more capable of handling the demands of more complex training.
3/ Upgraded Mechanics to fit her body
This is where most strength coaches, personal training & physical therapists fail — they assume everyone should move the same way. Claudia’s body needed something different.
We changed:
Her path of motion
How she set up exercises
- Execution (how she approached each lift)
Once this all fit her anatomy — her long arms, narrower rib cage & high mobility — it immediately felt:
smoother
safer
more stable
more natural
This reduced the nervous system’s need to “protect,” which is why she finally felt stronger in positions that had bothered her for years.
Claudia’s Transformation
Within 12 weeks, Claudia was:
✅ Shoulder pressing heavier than she had in years
✅ Pulling, pressing and deadlifting with full confidence
✅ Training without hesitation or fear
She felt strong, stable and in control of her shoulder for the first time in 5 years.
At her photoshoot, she even hit pull-ups (something she avoided for years).
She didn’t just feel better. She felt capable.
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
Claudia didn’t need:
more stretches
more rest
more mobility drills
more low-load rehab work
She needed a system to improve movement quality:
rebuild strength
restore control
improve mechanics
progress her into real-world loading safely
Once she had that, her results accelerated for the first time in half a decade.
Workouts were frustrating. I couldn't press or pull without having to stop mid-set ... And despite going to the hospital and seeing physios, nothing worked... the pain would ease short-term but would return.
WIth Ollie’s help I’m now able to train 100% pain-free, and I'm shoulder pressing 15kg DBs in each hand without any clicking! And my shoulders have grown too. I'm no longer frustrated or demotivated, and feel the strongest l've ever been.
It's crazy how much misinformation is out there, and I was hesitant to get Ollie’s help because nothing seemed to work up until this point, but I'm glad I did.
A QUESTION FOR YOU?
Most people let shoulder problems drag on for months…
then years…
and sometimes decades.
Here’s what usually happens:
❌ Progress stalls
❌ Confidence erodes
❌ Training becomes cautious, limited, and inconsistent
❌ Strength slowly declines
❌ Daily life starts feeling “restricted”
And in some cases, people start considering options they never wanted to think about.
But the truth is simple:
If the last 6–12 months haven’t moved you forward…
the next 6–12 months won’t either – unless your strategy changes.
If you’re:
struggling with long-term shoulder limitations
tired of setbacks, tightness or flare-ups derailing progress
wanting to rebuild strength, mobility & confidence
ready to train without hesitation again
👉 Book your Shoulder Strategy Call
We’ll break down what’s holding you back, what you’ve tried, and exactly what needs to change to get you moving forward again.
Anyone who’s had an injury knows how frustrating and demotivating it is when you see yourself getting weaker and weaker.
Fast forward to now, I’ve taken out all forms of ‘recovery’ (such as tennis balls, stretching, foam rolling, massages). And I can get on with my life with stronger shoulders (it makes carrying groceries so much easier! 😅).
Feeling strong and feeling grateful.
