In part 1, I explained why you may want to avoid certain exercises if you have an existing shoulder injury or are dealing with shoulder pain. I also discussed how to modify other exercises to prevent shoulder aggravation.

In this second part, I dive into the exercises you should focus on more to keep your shoulders feeling strong and healthy.

Prioritize horizontal pulling

One of the best ways to keep your shoulders feeling healthy is to train your back. However, as we discussed in part 1, vertical pulling can actually aggravate shoulder issues and may be totally out of the question for some.

Instead, focus on rows and other horizontal pulling exercises. These can be completed with a variety of implements. Some of my favorite rows include chest supported rows with dumbbells or machines, 1- and 2-arm bent over rows with barbells or dumbbells, inverted rows using a TRX or smith machine, and seated low rows using a cable machine.

Face pulls using bands, cables, or a TRX should also be a staple movement in all workout programs.

To ensure safety and effectiveness, follow a few key steps when completing any row variation:

• Start with your arms fully extended out in front of you. Think about reaching ahead without allowing your shoulders to round forward.
• Initiate the row with your elbow and only pull until your upper arms are even with your sides to avoid forward dipping of your shoulder.
• Add a 1-second squeeze to the flexed position of all rows to maximize engagement of the back muscles and keep you honest with the weight.
• Never allow your shoulders to shrug up toward your ears. Think about keeping your shoulder blades in your back pockets.

I have most clients perform 1-2 pulling exercises for every pressing exercise.

I recommend training rows with a variety of loading methods. Some rows, such as barbell bent over rows and pendlay rows, can be loaded quite heavy and performed for sets of lower reps. Others, such as machine rows and dumbbell bent over rows, work well with both higher and lower rep schemes. For best results, train your back using as many set and rep schemes as you can.

Include reaching movements

Many times, shoulder pain can occur because the shoulder is not able to move through a complete range of motion. When you place your restricted shoulder under heavy loads, such as in an overhead press, bad things can happen. In healthy individuals, the shoulder blade should be able to move up and around the rib cage without restriction.

To visualize this, first extend your arm out in front of your chest. Now, imagine someone is holding a $100 bill just beyond your fingertips. If you think about reaching for the bill, you will find that your shoulder blade pushes out to the side and provides your arm with a few extra inches of range that you didn’t have before. This is known as reaching and is an important part of full shoulder mobility.

In part 1, we discussed packing the shoulder blades to safely perform bench press variations. For most other pressing exercises, however, we want the shoulder blades to move during the lift. Incorporating reaching exercises in your program is a crucial part of maintaining healthy shoulders.

Landmine pressing

If you have cranky shoulders but still want to do some pressing, the landmine is going to become your new best friend. The landmine is a gym tool that attaches one end of a barbell to the floor and allows the barbell to rotate and move freely at an angle. Landmine pressing provides many of the same benefits of regular overhead pressing without placing your shoulder in an unsafe or painful position.

Follow these steps for a great landmine press:

• Begin with your hand at the end of the barbell and your elbow at an angle slightly less than 90 degrees.
• As you exhale, push the bar up until your arm is fully extended.
• At the top of the movement you should be reaching as far as you can without allowing the shoulder to shrug up.
• Always keep your elbow beneath the bar as you press.

Landmine pressing can be performed in half-kneeling, tall-kneeling, standing, and staggered positions. I recommend starting in the half-kneeling position to help you engage your core and resist arching your lower back.

Push-ups

Although they are a horizontal press much like a bench press, push-ups require you to move your shoulder blades throughout the movement rather than keeping them packed together.

Follow these steps for a great pushup:

• As you lower your body toward the ground, the shoulder blades should move back together toward your spine.
• At the top of the pushup, reach your arms into the floor and pull your shoulder blades apart as far as you can.
• Always resist the urge to shrug your shoulders and keep them down away from your ears throughout the exercise.
• Keep your elbows at around a 45 degree angle of your sides as you descend.

The bear and bear crawling

A third way to incorporate reaching movements in your training is to use bear variations.

Get into a bear position by starting on all fours (hands beneath the shoulders, knees beneath the hips, and a flat back). Reach your arms into the ground as far as you can, raise your knees a couple inches off the floor, and get up on your toes. Beginners can practice holding tension in this position, much like a plank, for a fantastic core exercise.

Make this more challenging by slowly crawling forward or backward with alternating pairs of opposite arms and legs. Always try to reach down through the floor and maintain your flat back as you crawl.

Shoulder raise variations

If your goal is hypertrophy, you can still put on size without hurting your shoulder. Depending on the nature of your shoulder issue, you may be able to complete light shoulder raise variations without pain.

Always lead with your thumbs rather than your pinky on front and lateral raises to keep the shoulder out of internal rotation. Never use heavy weights on these exercises. Use a weight you can lift for 10-20 reps at a slow tempo with perfect form.

You should also spend lots of time training the rear head of the deltoid with different reverse flye variations. Even in healthy lifters, the rear delt is one of the most neglected muscles. Putting on some size here helps give your shoulders a round, 3D look. If you don’t tolerate lateral or front raises, you should still be able to hit this part of the shoulder.

Some of my favorite exercises for this muscle are bent over rear delt flyes, seated rear delt flyes, prone reverse delt flyes on a bench, and reverse pec dec. You also train these muscles with face pull and band pull apart variations. As easy way to get more volume for the rear delts is to add a set of 10 band pull aparts between sets of all your other exercises. Work up to 100 band pull aparts during each workout.

Don’t let a shoulder injury slow you down

You can still have a great workout while dealing with cranky shoulders. Be smart about which exercises you choose to include in your program. Avoid the overhead position and ensure that your shoulders are moving properly for each pressing exercise you perform. Do as many different row variations as you can and include some extra volume for the rear delts.

If you need help putting together a program that helps you reach your goals without pain, please contact me here.

Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints I hear from clients. Old sports injuries, bad lifting habits, and terrible desk posture combine to create a perfect storm of tight and achey shoulders.

Thankfully, there are ways to exercise without further jacking up your shoulders. Redesigning your approach to training may even help you improve your posture and reduce pain in your life beyond the gym.

This two-part blog post explores how to train around shoulder pain. Part 1 shares which exercises to avoid and which to modify so they are more shoulder-friendly. Part 2 explains which exercises and training techniques you should prioritize to help you build strength and stability and keep your shoulders feeling good.

*Please note, if you are experiencing muscle or joint pain I always recommend seeing a physician or physical therapist. A personal trainer is not qualified to diagnose medical conditions or prescribe treatment and exercise is not a substitute for medical care.  This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of shoulder solutions, but rather a few things that I have repeatedly found helpful with my clients.

Be Wary of Overhead Movements

If an exercise causes you pain you should stop doing it.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met with a new client who has an existing shoulder injury but tells me that they regularly perform heavy overhead pressing movements.

If you are dealing with any kind of shoulder pain, you should remove direct overhead movements from your program for at least a short period of time.

Overhead Pressing

Barbell overhead pressing poses the more risk to shoulder health than any other exercise.

In order to properly perform this movement you need full shoulder flexion (the ability to get your arms overhead), the ability to extend through your thoracic spine (mid-back), and core stability to prevent lower back hyperextension (arching).

If any of these pieces is missing, you run the risk of hurting your shoulder. This risk combined with the heavier loads people often force on these exercises (hello, ego) make this lift a poor choice for almost everyone.

Depending on the nature of your shoulder issue, you may be able to tolerate lighter overhead pressing using dumbbells or kettlebells in the scapular plane. This means that you keep your arms somewhat in front of your torso rather than out to the side in what I call the “high-five” position. Try single-arm pressing from the half-kneeling position to prevent you from arching your lower back.

High-five position on the left, scapular plane on the right

If you need to remove overhead pressing permanently, fear not. There are other exercises and tools you can use to get many of the same benefits without the pain or risk. I will dive into these options more in part 2.

Vertical pulling

You also need to be cautious with vertical pulling movements. If you can’t overhead press without pain, you don’t have any business performing chin ups or pull ups.

Lat pulldowns are one of the most commonly butchered exercise at the gym. If you want to try including lat pulldowns in your workouts, start with lighter weights and use an attachment that feels comfortable. Always pull your shoulder blades down before initiating each rep. Remove these if you experience any pain or discomfort.

Some people with shoulder issues are able to get into a semi-overhead position using dumbbell or kettlebell pullovers. This movement is completed by lying on a bench and slowly lowering a weight behind your head, creating a big stretch on the lats.

Become a Better Bencher

Since overhead pressing is likely out, most of your pressing work will be done in the horizontal plane. The bench press and its many variations are staple movements in this plane. In order to perform these exercises pain-free and ensure you aren’t putting your shoulders at risk, you need to learn a crucial technique known as packing your shoulders 

To pack your shoulders, start with your arms extended above your chest in push-up position. Simultaneously pull your shoulder blades down away from your ears and together towards your spine. This creates a “shelf” with your upper back on the bench and naturally pulls your lower back into a slight arch.

You must maintain this packed position for the entirety of the set. Don’t lower the weight so far that front part of the shoulder dips forward. When you complete each rep, focus on locking out with your elbows rather than reaching your arms farther above you which causes the shoulder blades to pull apart.

It’s also important to make sure your elbows track properly during the bench press. Rather than lowering your arms to 90 degree angles with your sides, try to keep them within a 45 degree angle. Keep your palms facing slightly in throughout the exercise to help facilitate this movement. You should look like an arrow rather than a “T” when viewed from the top.

Read more: 6 common bench press mistakes

Bad shoulder positions can creep up where you least expect them

Many exercises in the gym can stress the shoulders without directly training them. One exercise that often bothers people with cranky shoulders is barbell back squatting. Because of the position of the arms and shoulders when supporting the bar on your back, this exercise can cause a lot of discomfort.

First, try moving your hands wider on the bar. This works best if you are able to use a lower bar position on your back. If that still causes problems, remove barbell back squats entirely and use a safety squat bar or front-loaded squat variations instead.

Read more: Can’t back squat? Try these front-loaded squats instead

In part 2, I explain why rows and other horizontal pulling motions are great for helping your shoulders feel good. However, bad rowing technique can also irritate your shoulders. A row should always be initiated from your shoulder blade rather than your shoulder joint.

Instead, pull your shoulder blade back towards your spine. Think about leading with the elbow and stop the row when your upper arm is even with your torso. Rowing back in a slight arc towards your hip can also help you keep your shoulder in a safe position and ensure that the row is properly targeting your back.

I also recommend a 1-second pause in the flexed position of rows to prevent you from yanking your shoulder and to keep you honest with the weight.

Be Smart

If you are dealing with a shoulder issue, first remove any exercise that causes pain. Most people with cranky shoulders will do best by removing all overhead pressing and pulling from their workouts. In time, if your issue is minor, you may be able to re-introduce light overhead work with dumbbells and kettlebells.

Be sure to pack your shoulders and keep your elbows tucked towards your sides during bench press variations.

Watch your shoulder position throughout your workouts, as you may experience pain on unrelated exercises such as barbell back squats.

Check out part 2 where I discuss what exercises you should prioritize to keep your shoulders healthy and avoid pain during training.