BrotherIron
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Recently, I received an message from a middle-aged man who was unable to pick up his 3year old son over his head due to shoulder pain. His goal was very simple. It had nothing to do with big bench numbers. He simply wanted to be able to be an active father for his child. That is a goal worth accomplishing!
Whatever your goals may be, the health of your shoulders should be a top priority in your training program.
I’ll highlight four exercises for healthy shoulders:
1. Inverted Row
The idea of doing body weight exercises isn’t the sexiest thing in the world. However, I promise that if you do these correctly, your shoulders will feel better. To do these correctly, you must get your chest to the bar. I’m convinced that 75 percent of the shoulder problems can be solved simply by improving scapular stability. By pulling the bar to your sternum, you will force your scapula into a retracted position and activate your middle and lower traps two big, scapular stabilizers. By strengthening this movement, not only will you improve shoulder function, but you will be able to hold your bench position much easier as well.
2. Hand Walk Variations
The importance of the serratus anterior in shoulder and scapular function has been written about a lot. You may have heard of a push-up plus or a scapular push-up. Both of these push-up variations do a great job of working this muscle by creating protraction of the scapula.
Hand walks, on the other hand, work by resisting retraction and force the serratus to work eccentrically. The key to hand walks is to keep a tight core and keep your shoulders in protraction. Don’t allow them to collapse. What you get is a rotator cuff firing like crazy to stabilize a compressed humeral head, scapular stabilizers being strengthened in a dynamic manner, and pelvic stabilizers firing to keep the torso rigid.
3. Overhead Kettlebell Work
I think overhead lifting is a must for proper shoulder function. In order to establish proper scapula-humeral rhythm, bringing the arms overhead is essential. Add in the rotator cuff benefits of overhead lifting and the thoracic extension necessary to do standing overhead lifts, and I don’t see how you can leave it out.
Kettlebells offer us one big advantage over dumbbells. When we grab dumbbells, we’re able to control the center of gravity. This isn’t the case with kettlebells. Our rotator cuffs are going to have to work harder to stabilize the weight overhead.
Try this simple progression using light weights first:
Kettlebell overhead press (light weight)
Overhead kettlebell walks
Overhead kettlebell split squat
Overhead kettlebell split squat and press
Overhead kettlebell walking lunge
Overhead kettlebell step-up or walking lunge and press
The combination of overhead lifting and dynamic movement gives the rotator cuff a great stimulus for improvements and strength gains.
4. Weighted Chin-Ups
Balance is the key to shoulder health not just the balance in volume but the balance in load. Here is my challenge to all the big benchers out there can you do a chin-up with the same weight that you can bench raw?
Incorporate these exercises into your routine and see if your shoulders don't feel better and handle workloads easier.
Whatever your goals may be, the health of your shoulders should be a top priority in your training program.
I’ll highlight four exercises for healthy shoulders:
1. Inverted Row
The idea of doing body weight exercises isn’t the sexiest thing in the world. However, I promise that if you do these correctly, your shoulders will feel better. To do these correctly, you must get your chest to the bar. I’m convinced that 75 percent of the shoulder problems can be solved simply by improving scapular stability. By pulling the bar to your sternum, you will force your scapula into a retracted position and activate your middle and lower traps two big, scapular stabilizers. By strengthening this movement, not only will you improve shoulder function, but you will be able to hold your bench position much easier as well.
2. Hand Walk Variations
The importance of the serratus anterior in shoulder and scapular function has been written about a lot. You may have heard of a push-up plus or a scapular push-up. Both of these push-up variations do a great job of working this muscle by creating protraction of the scapula.
Hand walks, on the other hand, work by resisting retraction and force the serratus to work eccentrically. The key to hand walks is to keep a tight core and keep your shoulders in protraction. Don’t allow them to collapse. What you get is a rotator cuff firing like crazy to stabilize a compressed humeral head, scapular stabilizers being strengthened in a dynamic manner, and pelvic stabilizers firing to keep the torso rigid.
3. Overhead Kettlebell Work
I think overhead lifting is a must for proper shoulder function. In order to establish proper scapula-humeral rhythm, bringing the arms overhead is essential. Add in the rotator cuff benefits of overhead lifting and the thoracic extension necessary to do standing overhead lifts, and I don’t see how you can leave it out.
Kettlebells offer us one big advantage over dumbbells. When we grab dumbbells, we’re able to control the center of gravity. This isn’t the case with kettlebells. Our rotator cuffs are going to have to work harder to stabilize the weight overhead.
Try this simple progression using light weights first:
Kettlebell overhead press (light weight)
Overhead kettlebell walks
Overhead kettlebell split squat
Overhead kettlebell split squat and press
Overhead kettlebell walking lunge
Overhead kettlebell step-up or walking lunge and press
The combination of overhead lifting and dynamic movement gives the rotator cuff a great stimulus for improvements and strength gains.
4. Weighted Chin-Ups
Balance is the key to shoulder health not just the balance in volume but the balance in load. Here is my challenge to all the big benchers out there can you do a chin-up with the same weight that you can bench raw?
Incorporate these exercises into your routine and see if your shoulders don't feel better and handle workloads easier.
