Bodybuilding With Shoulder Problems

Being successful in bodybuilding requires you to have a balanced, muscular physique, but this can be a challenge if you have problems with certain muscles or joints. As far as the shoulder goes, the most common issues are instability, impingement or rotator cuff injuries, notes the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Suffering from any of these can certainly make planning your bodybuilding routine more challenging, but it is possible to work around them, build muscle and improve your physique without making the problems worse.

  1. Direct Shoulder Training

    • Depending on the type of injury you're suffering from, certain shoulder exercises may be off-limits. The key here is pain: If an exercise hurts, don't do it. A key offending exercise is overhead pressing. While this may be a staple exercise in many bodybuilding shoulder workouts, coach and medical exercise specialist Dean Somerset explains that pressing a weight above your head places your scapula into an unnatural position and can compress your rotator cuff muscles, making it a high-risk exercise. Strength coach Charles Poliquin disagrees though, stating that provided you lift with correct technique, the overhead press is a good indicator of shoulder health. If overhead presses cause you discomfort, you may wish to replace them with isolation movements such as lateral or front raises with dumbbells or a cable machine.

    Other Exercises

    • Shoulder problems and poor posture can interfere with your ability to perform other weighted exercises as well. Squatting can be an issue, according to Eric Cressey, head of Cressey Performance in Boston. Holding a bar across your shoulder blades puts your shoulders into a risky position, so you may be better off performing front squats or using a safety squat bar instead. Another common bodybuilding exercise, the bench press, may be a no-go too. A wide grip with flared elbows can place a lot of strain on your shoulders, so keep your elbows tucked in, advises corrective exercise specialist Mike Robertson. If this still hurts, switch to dumbbell chest presses or dips to work your chest instead.

    Corrective Exercises

    • By performing the right exercises, you should not only be able to avoid making your shoulder problems worse, but actually improve them too. Add more upper-back and pulling exercises into your program, advises Cressey in his book "Maximum Strength." Aim for a 2-to-1 ratio of pulling to pushing. So for every set of bench presses, shoulder presses, dumbbell presses or pushups you do, complete two sets of dumbbell or barbell rows, face pulls, chin-ups or pulldowns. Exercises that directly target your shoulder stabilizers will help too, so add external rotations with a resistance band or cable machine to your workouts.

    Considerations

    • Consult your doctor or a qualified physiotherapist or sports therapist before you start training and if you have any concerns over your shoulder health. Begin your workouts with a cardio warm-up to get your blood flowing, then spend five to 10 minutes performing very light shoulder exercises before adding any weight. Even if you have to take a break from training your shoulders or any other upper-body muscles due to your injuries, you can still continue lower-body training by using machines such as the leg press, calf raise, leg extension and leg curl.