Training & Nutrition - Creaky bones in shoulders

I ride (what I think is) a lot, between 7 and 9 hours per week. I don't do any other physical activity, and sit at a desk about 12 hours per day. I'm 41 years old.

My legs are in great shape, but sometimes in the mornings I get up and my shoulders feel a bit, well, creaky. Like those of an old man. Should I be incorporating some resistance training into my regimen to make my physical activity more well-rounded? Or could the creaky shoulders have more to do with how much typing I do every day (I'm a translator, so I type about 2,000 words per day)?

Could anyone make some recommendations?

Thanks,
R

I'm considerably older than you. I've found that going to the gym twice a week during the part of the year that's not "high season" has been very helpful, maybe necessary. I don't spend enough time there to hurt my riding particularly, only 20-30 minutes per session. Just a very quick full body workout, using exercises (free weights as much as possible) that each work at least two joints. This has been very helpful. If I have time and think about it, I also stretch before bed, maybe 15 minutes. That's nice, too.
Leg sled
Seated rows
Back extension machine
Squats
Bench press
One-legged calf raises
Crunches or sit-ups
Dumbbell press
Lat pull-downs

Check your typing posture out or have someone do it. Make sure you are not tensing up your Traps as you type or keeping your elbows far away from your ribcage thus adding stress on to your shoulders.

In addition to the above mentioned exercises, add some shoulder specific exercises at light weight. Upright rows and lateral raises come to mind.

First of all, check your riding posture and the grip. Are you hunching into the ride? Are you gripping extra hard? Do your shoulders feel tense after you get off the bike?

There are exercises you can do without having to go to the gym. You can do simple stretches right at your desk. Put your hands together, palms up, and stretch above your head. Another one will bring one hand across your chest, pulling the elbow of that hand with the other. A third is to put one hand low behind your back and the other high above your head, pointing in the direction of the other arm (kind of like making a circle with your arms).

You can do simple isometrics as well. Put your palms together and press. Put your fingers into a lock and pull. There are a bunch of others. A quick google will gove you lots of options.

If you're really hurting bad, go see an ortho guy. I had to have cortisone shot into one shoulder, but I haven't had any trouble with it since.

Thanks very much for the helpful replies. Nothing actually hurts in my shoulders, it's just that they kinda creak a bit in the mornings if I rotate them around.

I do find that my right shoulder starts getting sore at about the 1 hour and 30-minute mark of a ride, so that's when I either stop for a break or ride one-handed and allow my right arm to rest. A few minutes does the trick, and I'm good to go.

I'm thinking I need to diversify my exercise regimen a bit.

Not so much strength, but do shoulder stability exercises using very light weights, light as in starting with a tuna can. These work the deep shoulder muscles which are essential to stability and don't recruit the big ones. Super high reps, super low weight.

yoga. massage. and i hear glucosamine condroitin is good for helping bring more blood flow to the cartilage. my shoulders are super creaky too. i type heaps for work as well. computer work definitely doesn't help.

i do know that i've had fantastic results from doing yoga on a regular basis. but i've gotta stick with it. starting yoga and sticking with it is like the opposite of trying to quit smoking. i know that it's super good for me but for some reason i rarely find the time to practice it. would rather spend that time on the bike. i'll round it out one of these days.