Question about shoulder work.....

[Colia]

Hi Cathe,

First let me congratulate you on another set of terrific workouts! You never disappoint! I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do all the 'ball work', but it's good to have something to work toward!

Here's my question. I've been having some shoulder twinges and have been reading about the pros and cons of various shoulder exercises. You do quite a variety. What, in your opinion, are the safest shoulder exercises, and what are others that might be avoided or modified if the shoulder isn't 100%? Your opinions are greatly appreciated and highly valued!

Cheers!
Colia

 

[kathryn]

Colia,
FYI: there are a couple of discussions at videofitness.com forums that might interest you: one on "Do you do Arnold Presses" and one on "Shoulder tendonitis."" Both discuss shoulder exercises that may be risky.

 

[anm]

Hi Cathe,

I'd like to second Colia's question (as I'm sitting here with an bag of frozen okra on my shoulder ... which may actually be the only real use for frozen okra ). Also, how often would you recommend doing exercises for the external rotators?

Thanks!

~A

 

[Seabush]

I have problems with my shoulders as well. I do partial dumbbell/barbell shoulder presses and flys. I only lower the weights about three quarters of the distance. I read about this in Weight Training for Dummies. It's an alternative if you have elbow, shoulder, or rotator cuff problems.

Crystal

 

[kathryn]

Some shoulder exercises that many doctors, PTs etc. consider contraindicated (even if you don't feel pain while doing them): Arnold Presses, Barbell upright rows, lateral raises with pinky up.

 

[wendyloo]

frozen okra

I know,I know, this is Cathe's forum, but I just had to mention that I've made a really yummy gumbo recipe with frozen okra!!

 

[roe]

Side lateral raises (pouring a pitcher of water position) and upright rows place the shoulder joint in an extreme internally rotated position as the arms move outward or upward to 90 degrees or greater. This interal rotation is also combined with abduction (moving arms away from the body's midline), and these two combined joint actions can cause shoulder (rotator cuff) impingement.

The Arnold press starts with the shoulders internally rotated then moves into external rotation, abduction, and perhaps even hyper-extension, as the weights are pressed overhead - again, increasing the risk for impingement.

Not all people will experience problems with these exercises so if you are experiencing discomfort, keep the joint movemement "pure" by choosing other exercises as substitutions (front raises, rear delt flies, longer lever side laterals, or shrugs for example). This way, two joint actions are not being combined, reducing the risk for injury.

Also, in regards to the Intensity series, taking the time to do extra stretching is a good idea to restore flexibility.

Perhaps Cathe can add to this if she gets the chance.

-Roe

 

[juliee]

I am in physical therapy to regain use of my shoulder following surgery. I've been doing four exercises with a stability ball. Most important is focusing on pinching together the shoulder blades. I lie chest on the ball with my neck relaxed, front of chin resting on the ball. Two of the exercises involve lifting my arms out to the sides, perpendicular to my body. If I remember correctly, thumbs down works the rhomboids more, while thumbs up works the trapezius more. The other two are forward and backward, both with thumbs up. Scapular retraction's what it's all about. I do three sets of 12-15 three times a week. (I might add that as a result of one month of these exercises, I had less shoulder/upper back pain on a 1.5-hour ride than a cyclist friend who rides regularly, while I hadn't ridden since being hit on my bike by a 50-mph car a few months ago.)
juliee

 

[Colia]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. It's kind of interesting that for me, as I've been exploring this new series, the biggest stress I have found to my shoulder is PLB! Hoisting that heavy barbell up and down so quickly, behind my shoulders I find is too much, so I'm going to start modifying using dumbbells instead of the barbell so much. Also the other move that really stresses my shoulder are the close grip benchpress for triceps. Go figure. Just wanted to hear what Cathe's take on her shoulder work was.

Thanks again!
Colia