"Heal
Banged-Up Shoulders in Just Days” (orginally published in
Working Class Fitness.com newsletter) I want to
pass along a couple exercises that will help you with those
banged-up shoulders.
Shoulders take quite a beating. First, they have some of the
greatest Range of Motion (meaning they do work in more angles
and directions) of any of the joints in your body.
Second, they are used in so many exercises - all compound movements
that involve the upper body (such as bench presses, overhead
presses, rows, shrugs, chins, etc.) and many that involve the
whole body (cleans, snatches, high pulls, etc.) all flow through
the shoulder. By that, I mean that the shoulder girdle is involved.
Next, the shoulders are made up of a ton of small muscles,
tendons, and ligaments. If you thought your shoulder girdle
was just your deltoid, pectoral, and trapezius muscles, then
think again. Go find an anatomy chart of the shoulder girdle,
and see how much is moving around in there.
Not to mention all the times shoulders are used in athletics
and plain ole' regular life...
Put all that together, and you've got a set of joints that
are taking a beating!
Well, here are a couple exercises that you can use to help
keep those shoulders healthy. You can do these exercises as
a part of a Dynamic Warm-Up, Prehab, your actual workout, or
just as a sort of "add-on" to anything else you do.
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The first exercise I got from my friend "The Renegade,"
Coach John Davies, and it's the Cuban Press.
1. Start with 2.5 lbs. plates in either hand
2. Squeeze the shoulder blades together, and bring the elbows
up so that your upper arm is parallel to the ground (your arm
will be bent, and your forearm will just be hanging, perpendicular
to the ground).
3. Keeping your arms in the same "L" position they're
in, rotate your hands upward, until your Range of Motion limits
you. Your elbows and upper arms won't move - rather they'll
stay in place and just rotate. Imagine turning a crank - that's
how your arms should look.
4. Lower back down to the starting position.
Do 3 sets of 8 reps, 2-3x/week.
*****************************
The next exercise I got from coach Joe DeFranco, and it's the
Band Pull-Apart.
1. Get a large rubber band, like the ones that Iron Woody,
Jump Stretch, or Lifeline USA make. It should be a small band
- something that provides not too much resistance (often called
"mini" bands).
2. Stand with your arms outstretched straight in front of you,
holding the band between your hands. There should be just a
slight tension in the band.
3. Keeping your elbows locked, bring your arms out to your
sides, so that they're now pointing out from your body (left
arm pointing left, right arm pointing right). The band will
be stretched wide at this point - roughly across your nipples.
4. Return to starting position.
Do 100 reps each day (this is why you use a band with low resistance).
You don't have to do them all at once. Break them up into sets,
and get them done when you can. Personally, I do 5 sets of 20
reps, spread throughout the day.
*****************************
If you incorporate both of these simple exercises into your
program, I can guarantee that your shoulders will feel better
in just a matter of days...and they'll be thanking you in the
long run.
Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.
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