{"id":587,"date":"2010-04-19T21:24:04","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T04:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brianschiff.com\/?p=587"},"modified":"2010-04-19T21:24:04","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T04:24:04","slug":"the-real-science-behind-safe-shoulder-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.brianschiff.com\/?p=587","title":{"rendered":"The Real Science Behind Safe Shoulder Training"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, I have made\u00a0part of my\u00a0living the past several years helping people overcome shoulder pain.\u00a0 I often laugh when I hear people say “how hard can putting together an exercise program really be?\u00a0 It’s not rocket science or anything.”\u00a0 Well, maybe not, but getting it just right may mean the difference between a healthy shoulder\u00a0and really hurting.<\/p>\n

There is a new study soon to be released saying weight training injuries are on the rise (especially in males).\u00a0 In fact, injuries are up 50% from the period between 1990\u00a0and 2007.\u00a0 The majority of these injuries involved free weights.\u00a0 Many of the upper body injuries I see almost always involve the rotator cuff and\/or labrum.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 There are some primary reasons such as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Improper\u00a0form<\/li>\n
  2. Poor or absent spotting<\/li>\n
  3. Exceedingly high loads in what I term the “high risk” soft tissue zones<\/li>\n
  4. Too much volume\/frequency<\/li>\n
  5. Lack of posterior chain strength due to pressing dominance<\/li>\n
  6. Too little recovery<\/li>\n
  7. Pushing through pain<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What most people fail to understand is that the high repetition associated with weightlifting coupled with unfavorable biomechanical stress through long lever arms leads to eventual mechanical breakdowns\/failure.\u00a0 The basic translation = fraying, degeneration, tendinitis, tendinosis and tears.<\/p>\n

    This pattern\u00a0equates to lost time in the gym and in some cases surgery.\u00a0 The ironic part is the damage is often done in the early lifting years but not seen or felt for a decade or two later.\u00a0 This is why the young twenty somethings like to debate me on the modifications I suggest for bench presses and such.\u00a0 Yet, read what one former power lifter recently\u00a0emailed me below:\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Yes you can count me as another one\u00a0of your satisfied customers.\u00a0 I followed your 6 week injured series religiously and have recently moved on the your healthy shoulder series.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    My main concern at this point is to avoid injuring the shoulder again and I will follow your advice on the 7 bonus exercises listed.\u00a0 My background fits the profile mentioned in your manual – 46 years old, former power lifter, injured dominant shoulder doing barbell presses about 6 months ago.\u00a0 I have been doing presses for over 30 years and unfortunately never read about the scapular plane.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    The take home message is that modifying the load and adjusting the arc of movement with certain lifting exercises will indeed prevent common shoulder injuries and keep you in the gym for many years\u00a0to come without the fear of a lifting injury.<\/p>\n

    While the hard core lifters and competitors may scoff at\u00a0my application of the science and my suggestions now, they may\u00a0also suddenly come to realize the potential consequences of their ways when a debilitating shoulder injury hits.\u00a0 Am I saying full range\u00a0of motion and heavy loads are absolutely forbidden?\u00a0\u00a0No, but I do think you should ask yourself how often and for what purpose am I doing certain lifts in certain ranges of motion.<\/p>\n

    Additionally, I am saying that insufficient muscular balance\u00a0coupled with repetitive load to near failure will over time result in acquired laxity, accelerated tendon degeneration and potential mechanical failure.\u00a0 Gravity and friction are two forces that will tear a shoulder down over time\u00a0with exercises\u00a0such as pressing, flies, dips, upright rows,\u00a0side raises and push-ups to name a few.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    So, the next time you feel a “twinge” in the shoulder with lifting, it may be time to consider backing off and making some changes in\u00a0your routine as\u00a0time and experience has taught me the rotator cuff and A-C joint will eventually say &quot;enough is enough.&quot;\u00a0 If you want more information on my exercise modifications, check out my shoulder book at www.rotatorcufftraining.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    So, I have made\u00a0part of my\u00a0living the past several years helping people overcome shoulder pain.\u00a0 I often laugh when I hear people say “how hard can putting together an exercise program really be?\u00a0 It’s not rocket science or anything.”\u00a0 Well, maybe not, but getting it just right may mean the difference between a healthy shoulder\u00a0and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,8,22,36,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness","category-injury-prevention","category-rehab","category-rotator-cuff","category-shoulder","category-shoulder-injuries"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Real Science Behind Safe Shoulder Training - Brian Schiff's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.brianschiff.com\/?p=587\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Real Science Behind Safe Shoulder Training - 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