Shoulder Injuries and Exercises to Avoid

During my years of working in the gym industry I have noticed as well as learnt that some exercises aggravate the rotator cuff muscles within the shoulder joint and occasionally damage them. In this article I am going to give examples of some exercises that I do not recommend performing if you are a weight trainer just starting out or have suffered from a shoulder injury in the past.

Rotator cuff muscles

The Rotator Cuff muscles are not the Deltoid muscles, they are the supporting muscles surrounding the shoulder capsule. These muscles are called the Supraspinatus, Subscapularis, Teres minor and the Infraspinatus.

If you injure, strain or slightly tear any of rotator cuff muscles I recommend seeing a qualified physiotherapist for exercises to assist in strengthening the injury. To avoid injuring your shoulder joint it is important to perform an adequate warm up before beginning exercises. To save the hassles of injuring yourself avoid the following exercises in your gym program.

Behind the Neck Barbell Shoulder Press:

This is one of the most popular shoulder strengthening exercises performed by trainers of all ability levels. The main problem with this exercise is the fact that many trainers do not have enough flexibility within the shoulder capsule itself to perform the exercise safely. When trainers with poor flexibility do the exercise the small rotator cuff muscles are placed under a significant load resulting in a potential injury. You may have done this exercise in the past or it may be part of your current gym program if it is I advise you to adjust this exercise by bringing the bar in front of your head opposed to behind the head. This will relieve the pressure on your shoulder capsule and still work the shoulder muscles.

Behind the neck lat pull down:

This is one of the most popular exercises to do especially with the older generations of trainers. Many people watch Arnold Schwarzenegger's Pumping Iron and see him doing behind the neck lat pull down and think this is the way to perform the exercise correctly. A few years ago a new law has passed in Australia stating that no one is allowed to teach a behind the neck lat pull down. This is because in the rare occurrence that the cable snaps the trainer may suddenly smash the bar bell into the base of their neck and could cause a potential injury. Similar to the behind the neck shoulder press a behind the neck lat pull down also puts your shoulder capsule in a weak position. To avoid injury perform a lat pull down by pulling the bar in front of your head not behind.

Pec dec:

Pec Dec is an exercise that is very common among trainers wanting to stimulate the chest muscles. To perform a Pec dec most machines ask the trainer to rest their forearms on the pads before pulling the arm rests together. Trainers need to be aware that whenever your elbow joint is at a ninety degree angle and at chest height you are likely to injure the rotator cuff muscles. Try to use the pec dec machine that asks for you to have your arms straight not at a ninety degree angle. If you do not have access to one of these machines then replace the Pec dec with a Dumbbell fly instead.

Overhead triceps extension

This exercise is performed by sitting down and placing a heavy dumbbell behind your head, from here you extend your elbows stimulating the triceps. This exercise is a great exercise to build strong triceps due to the big amount of weight you can lift. It is very rare but if, when you are doing this exercise, you feel a 'pinch' feeling within the shoulder joint, stop immediately and replace the exercise. This pinch feeling may lead to injury if one day you lift too much weight or you lower the weight a bit too low and your shoulder can't handle it.

Upright row:

Upright row is another exercise that many trainers complain of a dull ache or slight pinch in the shoulder the day after doing this exercise. This is due to how trainers perform this exercise. Many trainers each that the top of the movement "the elbows must be higher than the shoulders," this is incorrect. At the top of the movement the elbows must be level with the wrists, and your forearms horizontal to the floor. If you raise your elbows above the shoulders you are putting extra stress on the shoulder joint but keeping the elbows horizontal to the floor will keep the shoulder in a strong position throughout the entire movement.

With all of the above exercises you may have been doing them for years and never once injured your shoulder. I am not saying that if you perform these exercises you will get injured I am just simply stating that due to the fact that you are lifting in an biomechanically bad position means that these exercises may put you at a higher risk of injury, compared to others. Many Olympic weightlifters perform behind the neck presses all the time but these athletes spend a lot of time stretching their upper-body because they need excellent shoulder flexibility for the lifts their sport.

Author: Matt D'Aquino
http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/

Matt D'Aquino is the founder of Beyond Grappling fitness and conditioning. He is a 2008 Beijing Judo Olympian as well as nationally ranked freestyle wrestler and National Champion in Brazilian Jujitsu. Matt has a passion for teaching all forms of grappling and is on the journey to qualify for his 2nd Olympic Games.

To learn more about Matt and his fitness and conditioning training visit http://www.workoutsforjudo.com/

Original article

Extreme Shoulder Workout

I am sure that most of you fellow bodybuilders have often witnessed people in the gym, who train hard and spent hours in the gym. I am also sure you noticed that the majority of these people wonder in the gym without any purpose or any specific goal.

Even the ones that are following a workout routine, they often sink in the routine itself and gradually lose their interest.
In this article, I will share with you a hard and almost "shocking" shoulder workout that will boost your delts and give you the interest in training you might have lost over the last period.

Before we get into the workout plan, I must mention that shoulders are quite difficult to develop and you will need all the effort and concentration you can give.

Free weights are always better than machines as long as you keep your "cheating" limited and you are not a beginner. I would recommend starting to train with free weights after six months in the gym.

1) Dumbbell Presses 3 sets x 10, 8, 6 reps and a fourth one without resting until exhaustion. This exercise works for the whole shoulder muscle and gives volume.

2) Single Arm Laterals 3 sets x 12,10,8.
While performing this exercise, keep your body steady by holding yourself with your free hand. Focus on the arm, which is doing the movement and try to hold your arm for a couple of seconds at your eye level. Extremely good for shaping and rounding your shoulders.

3) Upright Barbell Row 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps and a fourth one without resting until exhaustion.
Like the previous exercise hold the barbell for a couple of seconds at the top position in order to maximize intensity. A very important exercise, which is developing perfect trapezious muscle.

4) Reverse Dumbbell Flyes 3 sets x 12,10,8 reps.
With this exercise you will sculpture the rear part of your shoulders.

This is a shoulder workout that will help you develop great symmetrical shoulders. However, you must remember that following this or any other workout routine like a robot will not help you grow dream-shoulders. Always try to add more intensity to your workout program either by increasing the weights or by performing the movements with higher precision. Having well-trained shoulders will also draw more attention to your chest and your arms.

So, just combine the above workout plan, with proper supplementation and protein-rich nutrition and you can be sure that you will achieve your goals.

Keep those muscles pumping!

Chris G Pap
Since 1993 involved in bodybuilding and fitness area.Visit the following link for more info about bodybuilding, supplementation, workout routines and nutrition.
http://www.strengthtrainingmuscle.com/

Original article

Shoulder Press: Everything You Wanted To Learn About It

A lot of people have been asking lately the same question: why can't they develop their deltoid muscles properly? The answer is simple: because nowadays, people are more tempted to use machines and cables instead of free weights. Fact that definitely leads to the lack of progress.

Basically, the shoulder workout should be based on the shoulder press. Why? Because it is the most complete exercise and the most efficient when it comes to shoulder development. There are many variations of the overhead press: for instance, there are exercises like seated dumbell press, behind neck shoulder press, one arm press, etc. Still, even though the shoulder press is supposed to bring visible results, this does not mean that the regular overhead press will bring the same results for everybody.

The first rule of bodybuilding tells that if something works for one athlete, it doesn't mean that it will work the same for some other bodybuilder. This is why, coming back to the military press, in order to see which of the above mentioned exercises works best for them, young bodybuilders have to experiment each of them for at least one month. For example, in order to see what exercise brings the best results, people should schedule the shoulders workout at the begging of the week, preferably after 1-2 days of rest. The workout should have only one press exercise and no more than 5 sets/per exercise, including the warm up sets. Of course, as the shoulders are considered to be a small muscle group, no more than 18 sets of 10-12 repetitions (including the warm up sets) should be made. This means that the shoulder press should me the most important exercise from of the deltoids workout, followed closely by lateral raises and upright rows.

From my personal experience, the most efficient exercise is the one that people like to call "military press". Unlike the seated deltoid exercises, at this one the athlete must stand in his feet. This means that he can use a little bit of leg drive in order to increase the intensity of his/her workout. However, in order to get the best results, the leg drive must not be exceedingly big, as the main target of the shoulder press are the shoulders and not the legs. Make 6 sets of 8 to 12 reps at every deltoid workout, and it is impossible to not see the results.

Don't forget to eat and sleep properly!

Matei Iurea is a professional powerlifter that has been involved in bodybuilding and powerlifting for more than 10 years. You can find more about the shoulder press visiting http://www.shoulder-press.info/

Original article