Substitute for upright rows?

[mkunkel]

Hi Cathe (or someone else who can advise me),

Sometimes upright rows bother my wrist, so I was wondering what part of the shoulder do they primarily work and what might be a good substitute for this exercise (to work the same part of the shoulder)? I don't want to just skip them because then my shoulders will be missing out...

Thanks.

Melissa

 

[PennyLaney]

Anterior raises?

I read that upright rows work the anterior deltoid (and the traps, too...). Front raises should be a good substitute for the shoulder work.

PennyLaney

 

[kathryn]

Upright rows work the medial deltoid (on top of the shoulder) and the trapezius to some extent. I do them with dumbbells, keeping my hands about shoulder-width apart and only going up to about chest height (to avoid shoulder impingement problems). This position (kind of like a half-upright row/half-lateral raise) might be kinder to your wrists, as the angle is different.

You could also do overhead presses as a substitute.

 

[mkunkel]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try modifying the upright row and see if that helps my wrists. If not, I'll just substitute something else, maybe front raises since overhead presses are already included in the workout.

 

[Connie1]

Try: using dumbbells, light enough so you can keep your wrists fixed (and strong, like in biceps curls). No flopping wrists. Also do not lift extra high, as the previous poster said.

And alternate them from one workout to the next with a substitute exercise. I like to use overhead presses.