Over a decade of teaching staff sport athletes, powerlifters and everybody in between, I’ve seen my share of accidents and the methods by which energy coaches may also help athletes return to their sport. It’s not the coach’s job to repair or forestall accidents, however the way in which we coach and program for our lifters can play an enormous position in dashing up the restoration course of.
Throughout my time working with novice {and professional} baseball gamers, I noticed extra shoulder accidents than another kind of setback. I discovered to understand how throwing a baseball extremely quick hundreds of instances may negatively have an effect on one’s shoulder well being. We couldn’t prepare baseball gamers the identical means we’d prepare a basic health fanatic with shoulder issues. A desk employee with shoulder ache from years of typing at a pc who needs to do barbell energy coaching 3 days every week isn’t going to want the identical “shoulder rehab” program as a baseball participant recovering from a surgically-repaired rotator cuff.
Many of the readily-available recommendation on coaching for shoulder well being comes from both of those extremes, and far of this recommendation is great for the precise populations. However guess who shouldn’t prepare like both of these avatars? Powerlifters. An skilled, aggressive powerlifter who will get shoulder ache whereas benching or squatting doesn’t have to throw a baseball 90 miles per hour. They usually’re most likely not “weak” from head to toe like the typical Joe, so that they doubtless received’t profit from run-of-the-mill bodily remedy workouts.
So what’s a powerlifter to do for shoulder well being?
In my expertise, lifters who embody some variation of the next workouts of their coaching routine frequently expertise fewer shoulder aches and pains than those that don’t. It is a utterly observational, unscientific assertion. However I’m assured on this assertion as a result of these workouts are:
- Loadable: You’ll be able to really use progressive overload to get stronger at these workouts over time, which might’t be stated for a lot of bodily remedy workouts like stretching, respiration drills and rotator cuff workouts with resistance bands.
- Particular: Energy athletes like powerlifters don’t have the identical postural points as a lot of the overall inhabitants (suppose desk employees) OR the identical mobility calls for as overhead athletes, so treating them like one or the opposite is misguided. These workouts really tackle lots of the variations that happen on the ribcage, shoulder blade and humerus from years of heavy powerlifting coaching.
Listed here are my three go-to actions that truly work to advertise shoulder well being for individuals who like lifting heavy issues:
Lure Raises
The decrease traps are maybe THE most necessary particular person muscle group for holding the shoulder shifting in such a means that reduces the probabilities of ache. The decrease traps do two fundamental issues:
- Upward Rotation: As you attain overhead, the shoulder blades ought to transfer like palms on a clock (your left shoulder blade clockwise, the correct one counterclockwise) alongside the rib cage. Coaching the lats, pecs and spinal erectors aggressively can create muscular variations that cut back scapular upward rotation, so strengthening the decrease traps can restore a few of that to make reaching overhead simpler.
- Posterior Tilt: While you set as much as squat, bench or deadlift, we wish the shoulder blades to tip backward and sit flush in opposition to the ribcage. This creates a powerful higher again place AND prevents the top of the humerus from gliding ahead within the socket, which is usually painful. We most frequently see anterior humeral glide as a lifter lowers the bar to the chest whereas benching or when a lifter reaches their palms for the bar whereas squatting.
Why are the decrease traps extra necessary than the rotator cuff muscle tissue? The principle operate of the rotator cuff is to maintain the “ball” within the “socket,” or the humeral head centered within the glenoid fossa. So whereas the cuff is certainly chargeable for exterior and inner rotation of the shoulder, it additionally must maintain the shoulder anchored in place. Powerlifters don’t want a ton of shoulder rotation in both path to coach for his or her sport, and so they’re already actually good at stabilizing the shoulder joint. Take into consideration getting the higher again tight whereas setting as much as squat, bench press or deadlift – that’s centration of the shoulder joint.
So somewhat than specializing in strengthening the rotator cuff with exterior rotation workouts, go for extra decrease lure workouts such because the head-supported lure increase:
I like to put lure raises both in the course of the warm-up (in a non-fatiguing set-and-rep scheme) or towards the tip of higher physique days after performing larger accent workouts like rows, lat pulldowns and triceps extensions. The decrease traps come alongside for the experience on sure higher again workouts, however deserve direct coaching in a typical hypertrophy rep vary (8-20 reps/set, leaving 1-3 reps within the tank).
Landmine Presses
Shoulder accidents usually require a lifter to cease bench urgent till the ache resolves. It’s necessary that the lifter discover workouts that prepare the identical muscle teams and/or motion planes because the bench press. Issues like push-ups and triceps extensions may also help protect some semblance of bench energy, however what if there was an train that might preserve the bench press AND enhance shoulder well being?
There may be, and it’s the landmine press.
Landmine presses strengthen the shoulders just like an overhead press, however the angle of the press tends to make it much less intrusive for each the deltoids and pecs in comparison with overhead urgent or benching. Plus, when carried out accurately, landmine presses strengthen the serratus anterior, an important muscle that assists the decrease traps with scapular upward rotation.
Whether or not you’re doing 1-arm landmine press variations or the 2-arm Viking Press (my private favourite), you need to ensure you’re reaching/punching by the lockout of every rep to get the shoulder blade to maneuver by a full vary of movement. Think about you’re punching a gap by the nook of the room the place the wall and ceiling meet, like this:
The largest feather within the cap of landmine presses: you may really load them up heavy. There’s nothing flawed with forearm wall slides and rotator cuff rehab workouts in the correct context, however you merely can’t evaluate the loading capabilities. Loading and strengthening the tissues you need to maintain wholesome is a should, and landmine presses get the nod on this case.
I prefer to prescribe landmine presses like most different accent urgent actions: units of 6-12 reps between 1-3 RIR.
Kettlebell Windmills
Most shoulder well being workouts deal with shifting the shoulder blade and/or the humerus round a steady torso, which is smart in lots of instances. However on the subject of powerlifting, it’s usually extreme stiffness within the torso that results in suboptimal shoulder operate: utilizing an enormous arch whereas bench urgent, always bracing the lats whereas squatting and deadlifting, and so on. Kettlebell windmills assist lifters take the torso by totally different positions and ranges of movement whereas sustaining joint centration on the shoulder.
Windmills match greatest as a part of both an upper- or lower-body warm-up. I particularly love them earlier than squats due to how they open up the whole torso and make it simpler to wedge right into a low-bar squat place. We often do 2-3 units of 5 reps per aspect.
Shoulder Energy Options
Whether or not you’re making an attempt to get again to 100% after a shoulder damage otherwise you’re completely wholesome and need to maintain it that means, these shoulder coaching methods can provide the requisite energy and vary of movement to maintain coaching exhausting. Shoulder rotations with a tube can solely take you thus far, so select workouts which are really loadable (and enjoyable to coach).