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.

Low back pain is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the US. Chances are good you or someone you know has struggled with back pain at some point. Because most of my clients work office jobs, I see back pain more than any other issue. Long days of sitting combined with too little movement and poor exercise form all contribute to an epidemic of sore, achey backs.

Thankfully, in many cases, back pain can be dramatically reduced and even overcome completely without the need for prescription drugs or costly surgeries. Moving well and often is one of the best things you can do for your back. Even people who have never experienced back pain can reduce their risk of future problems by consistently following a smart, structured training program.

Please note – I am not anti drug or surgery. These interventions help many people. If your back pain is severe and persistent, please go see a medical professional.

In part 1, I explained the dos and dont’s of training for those already suffering from back pain. This second part offers training strategies to reduce the risk of hurting your back down the road. Following these tips can keep your back healthy long into the future.

Learn how to hip hinge.

One of the most common ways people hurt their backs is by improperly lifting a heavy object from the floor. Instead of bending through the hips and using their legs, people round their backs and ask their spine to bear the brunt of the load.

Learning how to hinge through the hips is one of the best ways to spare yourself back pain down the road. To do this, you first need to learn how to move your hips independently of your spine.

First, let’s get to know your spine. Assume a quadruped position (all fours) and perform the cat-cow exercise. This is a yoga move that involves moving your spine from a fully flexed to a fully extended position. Notice that your spine is the only thing moving.

Next, we will isolate movement from the hips. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Push through your heels and squeeze your butt until your hips are fully extended. Notice how you can move through your hips without moving your spine. Pay attention to the differences between these two exercises so you can replicate this separation in a performance setting.

After you perform the cat cow and glute bridge, it’s time to work on standing hip hinges. I like to use a broomstick or PVC pipe to give clients some context about where their body is in space.

Hold the broomstick along your spine so you have three points of contact: the back of your head, in between your shoulder blades, and on your tailbone. Now, unlock your knees and reach your hips back into a hinge while maintaining all three points of contact. Be sure to keep your chest tall so if you had writing on your shirt someone could read it from across the room. When you feel a big stretch in your hamstrings, drive the floor away and return to your tall and tight standing posture.

Build posterior chain strength.

One of the best ways to protect your lower back is to build strength in all the other muscles on the backside of your body. Strong glutes, hips, and hamstrings will spare your lower back during heavy lifting and daily activities.

My favorite exercises to build glute strength are the glute bridge and hip thrust. Start with bridges on the floor and progress to hip thrusts when you get stronger. Hip thrusts can be heavily loaded to build some serious strength. However, never go so heavy that you arch your lower back or feel the movement too much in the front of your legs.

You can also use a variety of hip hinge exercises to learn to properly load your entire posterior chain. Be sure you can safely perform a hinge (using the drills above) before you attempt these exercises.

My favorite hinge exercises for people with back problems are dumbbell RDLs, cable pull-throughs, elevated kettlebell deadlifts, and kettlebell swings. You should primarily feel these exercises working your legs and butt rather than your lower back. If you want to work on regular deadlifts, consider using a trap bar or shortening the range of motion by pulling from blocks or a power rack.

Read more: Which deadlift is right for me?

Build core strength and stability.

Many people who suffer from back pain have a weak core. One of the main functions of your core is to stabilize your spine while performing other activities. For this reason, it is crucial to add some anti-extension (resisting arching of the back), anti-rotation (resisting rotation), and anti-lateral flexion (resisting side-to-side bending) exercises to your workouts. These exercises teach you to use the deeper muscles of your core to prevent unnecessary movement of your lower back.

Read more: Core training beyond crunches

Some of my favorite anti-core exercises are dead bugs, pallof press, and planks and side planks. Loaded carries are also a great option as they force you to engage your core and stabilize your spine while moving around.

It’s also a good idea to eventually add some rotational core movements to your training program. Most of the exercises we do at the gym happen in the sagittal plane (moving backwards and forwards). However, the activities of our daily lives happen in 3D and we need to be able to move safely and control our bodies in all planes of motion.

Cable rotations, chops and lifts, and Russian twists are my favorite rotational core exercises. When performing rotational exercises, go slowly and ensure you maintain control over the full range of motion. Whipping back and forth is a good way to hurt your back.

Build a stronger lower back.

Your quest to build a more resilient back should include some direct training for your lower back – assuming you don’t have any current pain or an injury history that requires you to tread more carefully.

My favorite lower back exercises are RDLs, back extensions, good mornings, and reverse hypers. All of these exercises also target the rest of the posterior chain and can be modified to hit the erectors of the lower back more or less. Always use perfect form, go slowly, and be conservative with weight increases when performing these exercises.

Lower back pain doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your training. In fact, regular exercise (using good form and a balanced training program) is one of the best things you can do for the health of your back. With some adjustments and planning, you can train around pain and implement strategies to possibly reduce future problems.

Want to work on squats and deadlifts without exacerbating lower back pain? Download your free copy of my ebook Squat and Deadlift School below. I share the exact progressions and exercises I use to help clients feel strong and confident with these exercises, including ways to modify your training if your back is bugging you.

In part 1 of this article, I explained how to warmup and foam roll to address knee pain. I also looked at which cardio options are the most knee-friendly.

Part 2 digs deeper into how you should modify your training when your knees are acting up. Please be advised that if you experience intense, debilitating pain or your pain persists for several weeks, you should see a medical professional.

Prioritize Posterior Chain Training

Depending on the severity of your pain or injury, you may not be able to perform knee-dominant exercises like squats and lunges right now.

Luckily, you can get a great training effect, build muscle in your legs, and get stronger by using exercises that primarily target the glutes and hamstrings. These exercises put much less strain on your knees and may actually help alleviate some of your knee pain in training and daily life.

Glute Bridges and Hip Thrusts

I have all of my clients with knee pain perform some variation of glute bridges or hip thrusts. These are some of the best exercises to directly target the glutes.

They are also very versatile and can be loaded a variety of ways depending on your goals. I program bodyweight bridges in my warmups, heavy barbell hip thrusts as a main lift during training, and high-rep band bridges and hip thrusts as a finisher. Get creative with how you use these exercises and don’t be afraid to go heavy once you master proper form.

Deadlifts

Another favorite exercise for those with knee pain is the deadlift. This exercise allows you to train your entire legs without putting as much direct strain on the knees. Be sure to choose a deadlift variation that doesn’t cause you any knee pain and that you can perform properly. Sumo deadlifts and trap bar deadlifts may be a better option than conventional deadlifts becasue they require less mobility and less knee flexion. I also like the Romanian deadlift because it allows you to hinge from a standing position, which again requires less mobility and less demand on the knee.

Other Options

Other great posterior chain exercises include good mornings (with bands, kettlebells, or barbells), back extensions, leg curls, kettlebell swings, and leg press with your feet positioned high and wide on the platform. Add in some isolation work for the smaller muscles in the glutes and hips. Some favorites include lateral band walks, seated machine abductions, and standing cable abductions. These exercises work best with light weights and high reps.

Adjust Knee-Dominant Exercises

Dealing with knee pain doesn’t mean you can’t continue to use knee- and quad-dominant exercises like squats or lunges. However, you will need to keep a very close eye on your form and consider making some tweaks to the way you load or perform these exercises.

It is extremely important to prevent any inward buckling, called valgus, of the knees. Allowing knee valgus puts tons of strain on the joint and may be contributing to your pain or injury.

Pay attention to your foot position. Your weight should be evenly balanced between your big toe, little toe, and heel when your foot is flat on the floor. Think about driving through your heel when completing single-leg exercises or leg presses to further engage the glutes and hamstrings. I also cue clients to spread the floor apart with their feet during squats.

Squats

There are several ways you can tweak your squats to reduce knee pain. Because some of these tips are contradictory, it’s important to experiment and find what works best for you.

Many people will benefit from widening their squat stance slightly and sitting back into their hips. Box squats are a great tool to learn how to sit back more into the squat and take more advantage of your posterior chain. Use a slightly lower back position when back squatting to accommodate this new stance.

Other people find that increasing their squat depth actually reduces their knee pain. If you tolerate it, try using a high-bar back squat or a front squat to get into an ass-to-grass squat. Front-loaded goblet squats also work well in this context. No matter how you choose to squat, be extremely careful to keep your knees out over your toes throughout the entire lift. Think about spreading the floor apart with your feet.

Unilateral Training

Choose single-leg exercises that keep your knee in a safer position. Single-leg deadlifts and RDLs are a fantastic exercise to build posterior chain strength and improve knee stability.

When clients are ready to reintroduce single leg knee-dominant exercises, I always start with split squats and step ups. I only progress to lunges when clients have demonstrated they can perform these two exercises with good form and without pain. Some clients never return to lunges, and that’s totally okay.

If you are experiencing knee pain, chances are good that you have poor mobility, weakness in some key muscles, or are performing exercises with shoddy technique. Try incorporating these strategies in your workouts to address these problems and build better training habits moving forward.

Want to work on squats and deadlifts without exacerbating knee pain? Download your free copy of my ebook Squat and Deadlift School below. I share the exact progressions and exercises I use to help clients feel strong and confident with these exercises, including ways to modify your training if your knees are bugging you.