What are the classic and effective methods for shoulder training?

Many people have asked me the same question: Handsome B, why do my shoulders often protrude, click, creak, and sometimes even when I do any movement to raise my arms? Will it hurt? If you have had the same experience, then today’s article is worth reading. I will give you two suggestions to solve this problem very well!

First of all, it is still the same old rule. To solve the problem, you must first know the cause. When you raise your hands above your head, your shoulder blades are involved in the work. Only when the scapula cooperates with the movement of the shoulder joint can your arm be raised above the head. If the scapula does not move, it is impossible to raise the arm above the head.

Scapula supra-rotation

In addition, in this movement, you will use a muscle that we usually don’t pay attention to, the "rotator cuff muscles"

The rotator cuff muscle group consists of four small muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. These four muscles wrap the shoulder like a sleeve.

Rotator cuff muscles

Whether you are doing shoulder presses or triceps head presses, they can play a very good stabilizing role, because the rotator cuff The muscles will wrap around the muscles at the upper end of the arm. When these muscles contract, they will rotate back and to the right, wrapping the upper end of the arm. The upper arm will rotate backward and enter the joint, allowing the bones to move only in the center of the joint.

Neutral scapula position

When the arm is raised upward, if the rotator cuff muscles are too weak and do not perform work, the bone end will gradually move to the upper end of the joint, thus compressing the top of the joint. , squeezing the muscles of the acromion, and even causing collision, and continuing to lift and compress the tendons, which may eventually lead to what we call rotator cuff tendon tears. This is caused by excessive squeezing, like a rope that is twisted too far and breaks.

So, when performing movements, it is best not to cause the joints to move upward and allow the joints to move in the center. The main function of the rotator cuff is to keep the joint in the center at the bone end during movements such as raising the hands. Allows more room for movement when the upper arms are raised.

Weakness of the serratus anterior

As you can see from our dynamic picture above, it can allow the scapula to rotate upward (that is, when our arms are raised upward and above the head) The muscles are: upper trapezius, lower trapezius, serratus anterior. These three muscles form a force couple, just like turning the steering wheel with both hands when driving. Although the linear movement directions of the left and right hands are different, they make the steering wheel rotate in the same direction and rotate the shoulder blades upward. This is the so-called steering wheel theory of scapula movement. The upper rotation of the scapula is an extremely important element in our movements such as presses and arm flexion and extension at the back of the neck. The most obvious sign of serratus anterior weakness is scapula winging.

The scapula of a normal person is close to the chest wall, which is mainly accomplished by the coordinated contraction of the serratus anterior and trapezius muscles. If the serratus anterior and trapezius muscles are weak, the scapula can lose its force against the chest. When the upper arm movement causes the scapula to rotate, it may become tilted due to the loss of traction on the edge of the spine, forming a deformity that looks like a cricket wing. Therefore, it is clinically named winged shoulder based on this characteristic_ Baidu Encyclopedia

At the same time, because the serratus anterior is the main muscle that rotates the scapula, muscle weakness will seriously affect the obvious compression or pain when our arms are raised upward. So how to solve these problems? I believe this is what everyone is concerned about. Two main points, please read below.

1: Strengthen the rotator cuff muscles

There are many causes of shoulder injuries, but what I will tell you now are the most common and common ones. Because few of us who do presses really pay attention to this area, but the rotator cuff is the only muscle that can help the shoulder joint. There is no other way but practice.

▲The method is to lean against the wall and put your arms and back against the wall. There are two things you need to pay attention to:

1: Finger position, you have to pay attention to the finger position, so that this piece is against the wall. (This side of the index finger, the red line position)

2: Then the elbow, let the back of the elbow also touch the wall.

Lift your arms upward. When you are close to the top of your head, you will find that the higher you go, your shoulders will definitely leave the wall.

There is a natural inward tendency to keep the arms closed. Finally let the two parts of the hand come together. The first time you do this action, you will find that your elbow will definitely leave the wall, or your fingers will leave the wall, or both will leave the wall. This will happen when you lift up.

But it’s okay, keep doing it, the second time, the situation will get better, the third time, the situation will get better again, do it 5-6 times a ***, and then take a step forward . Lift your arms above your head normally, and you will find that the symptoms of the various shoulder discomfort symptoms, noises, etc. we mentioned earlier have been alleviated no matter what the situation is. In fact, the symptoms completely disappeared. Are you surprised? The actual principle is that you temporarily restore the position of the rotator cuff and allow your bones to return to the correct position. This allows the bones to have more space as you move, so that the tendons and bones are not squeezed.

Therefore, as long as we exercise for a long time and integrate it into daily training, we can overcome this situation and make the rotator cuff less susceptible to injury and tear. Because once a shoulder is injured, it is difficult to fully recover. I am a good example. Everyone who has watched my live broadcast knows that it took me a long time to recover from my shoulder injury. Therefore, as someone who has experienced this, it is very necessary to remind everyone to pay attention to this issue.

2: Strengthen the serratus anterior muscle

One-arm dumbbell lateral raise

Hold the dumbbell in one hand, tilt your upper body to the side not holding the dumbbell, and then press directly upwards Lift dumbbells. Keep the weight on the serratus area before resuming contraction of the serratus for the press. Make sure to contract the serratus anterior while lifting vertically. This will unknowingly make the serratus anterior muscles bigger while training the shoulder muscles.

While we are exercising, avoiding injuries is what we need to pay most attention to. Exercise in a safer and healthier way is the concept I want to convey to everyone. If there is anything else you would like to know, please tell me, or leave a message under the article. We will see you in the next issue.