Shoulders
March 28th 2007 12:58
There is no muscle group that is involved in more movements than the shoulder. It is worked in every workout that involves the upper body. If you are doing simple curls, for instance, you are relying on your shoulders. Its the same story with bench presses, chins, and and French presses for triceps. The shoulders are certainly the locus for more training injuries and chronic problems than any other portion of the body for those who exercise with weights. Specifically, too much work is the primary reason that the shoulders break down.
That is the reason that training focused on the shoulders must be managed with care. I personally feel that shoulder training is best done with very few movements. The front and rear of the shoulder are heavily involved in chest and back training. If you are seriously training those muscles you are in danger of overkill if you add a list of shoulder movements that target the same areas. In fact, a prudent shoulder routine should limit itself to only two movements-the lateral raise and the overhead press.
The lateral raise hits the deltoid full on. Doing it properly,however,is important. I suggest you google "lateral raise" and watch the various animations with care. As you lift your hands at your sides, it is essential that your arms not be fully extended. This will place too much stress on your shoulder joints. Instead watch the animations. They show the arms slightly bent. This is how the movement is done without undue stress and maximum focus on the deltoid. I like to lower the weights so that they meet at hip level in front of me, this further relieves the joints. It is quite easy, though, to use momentum in this movement and you must guard against this.
The other shoulder movement I recommend is the simple overhead press. Do not do a standing overhead barbell press. This was once a part of Olympic lifting,but was dropped because it was a real cheater's delight. If you attempt it and cheat by bending backwards, you will not be working shoulders and you will be exposing your back to injury. Use the shoulder machines in your gym. My gym has a whole variety. Pick the plate loaded instead of the stack, if you can. Try not to bend at the back and do not bring your hands too close to your head. That will throw the burden onto the triceps. See my recent post "Systematic Random Thoughts."
The other press movement I recommend involves using dumbbells from a seated position with the back propped on something.l do this movement while sitting on a preacher bench facing away with my back against the bench. This allows me to press the weights with my back in place.
The supreme dumbbell press is called the Arnold Press. Google it. It is an overhead press in which the palms are facing the shoulders when the movement begins. As the arms go up the palms turn outward so that at the top they are facing away from the shoulder. This movement really stimulates the deltoid in a way the simple overhead press cannot.
A simple error in overhead pressing is to extend the arms too far up at the top of the movement. The shoulders stop working when the hands are about 4-6 inches above the head. That is where you want to stop. Your servant, as always.
The lateral raise hits the deltoid full on. Doing it properly,however,is important. I suggest you google "lateral raise" and watch the various animations with care. As you lift your hands at your sides, it is essential that your arms not be fully extended. This will place too much stress on your shoulder joints. Instead watch the animations. They show the arms slightly bent. This is how the movement is done without undue stress and maximum focus on the deltoid. I like to lower the weights so that they meet at hip level in front of me, this further relieves the joints. It is quite easy, though, to use momentum in this movement and you must guard against this.
The other shoulder movement I recommend is the simple overhead press. Do not do a standing overhead barbell press. This was once a part of Olympic lifting,but was dropped because it was a real cheater's delight. If you attempt it and cheat by bending backwards, you will not be working shoulders and you will be exposing your back to injury. Use the shoulder machines in your gym. My gym has a whole variety. Pick the plate loaded instead of the stack, if you can. Try not to bend at the back and do not bring your hands too close to your head. That will throw the burden onto the triceps. See my recent post "Systematic Random Thoughts."
The other press movement I recommend involves using dumbbells from a seated position with the back propped on something.l do this movement while sitting on a preacher bench facing away with my back against the bench. This allows me to press the weights with my back in place.
The supreme dumbbell press is called the Arnold Press. Google it. It is an overhead press in which the palms are facing the shoulders when the movement begins. As the arms go up the palms turn outward so that at the top they are facing away from the shoulder. This movement really stimulates the deltoid in a way the simple overhead press cannot.
A simple error in overhead pressing is to extend the arms too far up at the top of the movement. The shoulders stop working when the hands are about 4-6 inches above the head. That is where you want to stop. Your servant, as always.
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