I tend to work out in spurts... I'll work out really hard for a few weeks and then I'll slack off for a while. Recently, I decided I needed to whip myself into better shape again (for ski season) after a bit of slacking period and started doing some very brief workouts.

I was interested mainly in trying some different ways to help my lower back pain and scoliosis and I decided that maybe if I just clean and pressed a kettlebell and held it overhead for a while, one side at a time, that might do me some good.

Well I started out the first day with the 36lb kettlebell, and that was no problem, holding it overhead for about a full minute on each side. The second day I did it again, but then I decided that I should try it with the 54lb KB as well. It wasn't too much trouble, until I decided I should lower it to shoulder position doing a slow negative.

Bad idea.

I didn't feel like I injured myself (just a twinge, really), but a couple of days later... woah. I could barely move my left (weaker) arm. Today it feels better, although it's still tender. Problem is that now I have to lay off for a while to make sure my arm/shoulder heals and I don't aggravate it further.

So, just remember that even if you could lift at a certain level once, doesn't mean you can take a break for a month and then go right back to where you were before. The funny thing is that if I had just waited a week before tackling the bigger kettlebell, I probably would have been fine.