The Top Five Movements for Shoulder Health
By
Andrew Paul
Recently, I received an email from an average, middle-aged man who, after
years of training, was unable to pick up his three-year-old son over his head
due to shoulder pain. His goal was very simple. It had nothing to do with bench
numbers. He simply wanted to be able to be an active father for his child. After
a few months of corrective training, he got back to me and let me know that he
could now play with his child pain-free. 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. While many physical therapists will tell you
to stay away from benching or overhead lifts, I understand that for a die-hard
lifter, this is impossible. Luckily, there are some things you can do to improve
your shoulder function without making drastic changes in your training style.
In my new book, The Strength Coach’s Guide to Shoulder Training: Injury
Prevention at Its Best!, I discuss many different shoulder pathologies and
different things you can do to reduce shoulder pain. My book is available at
www.thestrengthcoachsguide.com.
In this article, I’ll highlight my top five 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 I see can be solved simply by improving
scapular stability. By pulling the bar to your sternum, you will force your
scapulas 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 scapulas.
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
For a while now, overhead lifting has been frowned upon by many
professionals. I think that 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. Does this mean that I get a 5RM on barbell military
press the first week I work with an athlete? No. However, using basic
progressions, you can get an athlete to that point safely and pain-free most of
the time.
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 prioception improvements and strength gains.
4. Cable L’s
I got this variation from a Mike Boyle article. When I tried it myself, I
couldn’t believe how hard it actually was. With the combination of horizontal
abduction and external rotation, you get retraction and depression of the
scapula, which is ideal for strengthening stabilizers. It also makes the rotator
cuff work to stay in external rotation. The key is for you wrist and elbow to
move on the same plane together.
5. 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? If you can, you are in
good shape. To find this out, load up the weight to your chin-ups. Once you
reach a good 3RM, add your body weight and weight added together. If that equals
at least 80 percent of your bench 3RM, you’re in good shape. If it’s the same,
you are in great shape.
Whether you’re an athlete or the average weekend warrior, these exercises can
greatly improve the function of your shoulders. To get more information on
shoulder training, my ebook The Strength Coach’s Guide to Shoulder Training:
Injury Prevention at Its Best! contains simple explanations for common
shoulder problems and over 40 exercises to improve shoulder function. It’s
available at
www.thestrengthcoachsguide.com.
Andrew Paul currently serves at the assistant director of strength and
conditioning at the University of Missouri. He works with Mizzou’s football,
softball, and volleyball teams. He can be reached via email at
andrewpaul@mizzou.edu.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
