You need strong and stable shoulders to perform the many tasks you do every day, such as lifting, and strength training is one way to build that strength and stability. But be smart about how you do it. The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint that is easy to injure. As you get older and enter your fifties, there is a higher risk of sustaining shoulder injuries when you strength train.
Shoulder injuries can range from a mild ache to a complete tear in one or more of the muscles, ligaments, or tendons of your shoulder. These injuries take weeks to months to heal, and some require rehab. But by taking a few precautions, you can get an effective shoulder workout with a lower risk of injury. Here are five tips for reducing your risk of shoulder injury when you train your upper body and shoulders.
Strengthen Your Rotator Cuff Muscles
Exercises like overhead presses help you build stronger, more defined shoulders and should be part of your routine, but don’t neglect the non-glamour muscles, the ones that keep your shoulders healthy and lower your risk of shoulder injuries. That would be your rotator cuff muscles. Keeping the four muscles that make up each rotator cuff of your shoulders strong is the key to reducing your risk of shoulder problems.
There are four rotator cuff muscles: the subscapularis, teres minor, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus. They make up the rotator cuff, which sits on the upper part of your arm near the shoulder joint. The role of these muscles is to keep your shoulder stable when you move your arm or raise it above your head.
Don’t be aggressive with the weights when you do rotator cuff exercises. Keep the weight light, no more than 10 pounds, to avoid adding stress on these important muscles. You can easily target and strengthen these muscles using lighter weights.
Why are strong rotator cuffs so important for preventing shoulder injuries? Overhead presses, pushups, and other strength-training exercises that target your shoulders put a lot of strain on the rotator cuff muscles, so it’s important to keep them strong and target them with your training.
Avoid Doing Risky Shoulder Exercises
Some exercises that work your shoulder and upper back muscles aren’t worth the risk if you have a history of shoulder issues. Certain shoulder movements are only safe if you use impeccable form, and it’s hard to get the form right without a lot of practice. An example is an upright row, an exercise that people do to target their shoulders. The upright row is a challenging exercise that targets key muscles in the upper back and shoulders, but it is also one of the hardest exercises to do safely. You must maintain good posture throughout the motion and avoid swinging or jerking the weights upward to avoid injury.
If you fail to control these motions, you place extra stress on your shoulders and neck — a risky situation when you’re working with heavy weights. It’s an exercise to avoid unless you have healthy shoulders and, even then, approach this exercise with caution.
Despite its benefits for building strong deltoids, the overhead press is a risky exercise if you have weak rotator cuff muscles, lack of upward shoulder blade rotation, or poor extension of your thorax. If you have a history of shoulder problems, approach this exercise with caution. If you do it, make sure your form is flawless and don’t overload your shoulders with too much weight.
Also, use caution with triceps dips, another exercise that’s risky for your shoulders. When you dip, compression and shear forces increase within the joint capsule, and the movement stretches the joint capsule, increasing the risk of a shoulder injury. Doing triceps dips with poor form can also lead to shoulder impingement.
Avoid Behind the Neck Exercises Too
Any time you pull a bar down behind your neck, you place your rotator cuff in a compromising position. An example of a behind-the-neck exercise that’s harmful to your rotator cuff muscles is the behind-the-neck military press. Another example is behind-the-neck lateral pulldowns. You can get the same benefits of a military press with less risk by doing the exercise with the bar in front of you. Don’t put your shoulders in jeopardy when you have a safer alternative.
Improve Shoulder Flexibility
Tight shoulders are a problem for people who spend too much time on the computer and not enough time stretching, strengthening, and conditioning them. If you spend most of your day hunched over a desk and don’t stretch before and after work, you will have some tightness in your shoulders. Although it’s unproven that improving shoulder flexibility decreases the risk of a shoulder injury, tight shoulders are never an asset when you do shoulder exercises.
Don’t Increase the Weight Too Quickly
Don’t advance the weight too quickly with shoulder exercises. Use weights that are appropriate for your fitness level. If you haven’t lifted weights before, start with light weights until you feel comfortable with how it feels. Then gradually increase the weight as you become stronger over time. This will prevent strain on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments supporting your shoulders. When you train, keep your movements slow and controlled.
The Bottom Line
You use your shoulders for everything you do, from driving and typing on a computer to lifting weights and playing sports. Because so many activities require your shoulders, they are prone to injury if you neglect them. Over time, small injuries can cause bigger problems. Therefore, take care of your shoulders by strengthening your rotator cuff muscles, using proper form when you train, avoiding risky exercises, and improving shoulder flexibility and mobility. The extra effort it takes to do this is worth it for the future health of your shoulders.
References:
- Cools AM, Johansson FR, Borms D, Maenhout A. Prevention of shoulder injuries in overhead athletes: a science-based approach. Braz J Phys Ther. 2015 Sep-Oct;19(5):331-9. doi: 10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0109. Epub 2015 Sep 1. PMID: 26537804; PMCID: PMC4647145.
- “Follow-up Q and A: Dangerous Dips – ACE Fitness.” acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1657/follow-up-q-and-a-dangerous-dips/.
- “Rotator Cuff Strengthening is so Important! Top 4 exercises.” sportandspinalphysio.com.au/rotator-cuff-strengthening/.
- “Pain with overhead press? | Advanced Injury Treatment Center.” 13 Feb. 2020, https://www.aitcnh.com/injury-prevention/pain-overhead-press/.
Related Articles By Cathe:
Weight Training and Shoulder Injuries: The Importance of Strengthening Your Rotator Cuff
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Ways To Stay Injury Free When You Fitness Train
Building Strong and Beautiful Shoulders: is Your Shoulder Workout Balanced?
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