Can you press more than you can hold over your head? Do you frequently suffer from shoulder injuries?
The ability to stabilise the shoulder is of paramount importance during any kind of movement whether that is for sports, fitness or simply everyday life.
The stabilising muscles of the shoulder, of which there are many, help to keep the shoulder complex in position in order to offer a stable base from which to work. It is the larger muscles of the shoulder that actually do the strength work.
Think of this: you can hold a weight over your head, arm locked shoulder pulled into its socket, for 30 seconds before the fatigue and discomfort sets in. However, you can take the same weight and press it for 1 minute without stopping. Can you see the problem here? After 30 seconds of pressing the stabilising muscles of the shoulder have fatigued and given up, you are now pressing for 30 seconds with an unstable shoulder and recruiting muscles that aren’t supposed to be used to help keep your shoulder in place. The result is, incorrect muscle recruitment of the shoulder and a very good chance of stabilising muscles (rotator cuff) injury.
So what is the answer? Always make sure you can stabilise (hold) a weight above your head for longer than you can press the same weight. Here’s a good drill:
Take a kettlebell press it over head, pull your shoulder down into its socket, rotate your head from left to right, then rotate your body keeping your feet where they are. Continue this movement until you can’t take any more. How long did you last? Was one side weaker than the other? Now, based upon that time never exceed that with your presses.
Remember that stabilising muscles must come first, get them strong before you proceed to any of the grind exercises like presses. The Turkish Get Up and Windmill are other excellent ways to really strengthen those stabilising muscles of the shoulder.
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