Shoulder Rebuild

Principles Of Rebuilding First…

Shoulders are more complex because they have more options for movement, more tendons, more structures.

Understanding how to improve function in knee or wrist tendons is a good place to start with the theory of healing.

The fundamentals are the same. How do we bring rebuilding factors to the area with circulation & muscle activation without significantly exceeding the tension capacities of the tissue.

How To Train

Work from each area. #0 - #1 - #2 through the sequence to the level that you’re prepared for.

Step #0 can be used under almost any circumstance.

#1 Circuits - 5-15 minutes of

#2 Dense style - works well 15-30 seconds on the minute for 5-10 minutes. Once you want more quantification.

Movement Selection

Respect the joint sensation even if the muscles feel good and the weight is light.

Don’t push through pain.

Find the movements that work.

Shoulder Considerations

There are many structures in the shoulder.

The irritation can be from a tendon, small muscle, joint surface, ligaments connecting bones.

It can be at the front or the back, top or the bottom.

Wherever it is we want the overall function of the shoulder to be healthy so all the movements will have their part to play.

Focus on the overall health and balance of the joint rather than one magic movement or specific muscle from the rotator cuff or deltoids.

UnCommon keys to restoring shoulder success

Muscle imbalance between internal rotation and external rotation and between pushing and pulling can cause poor shoulder mechanics but within this is the tissue LENGTHS that can be corrected fastest with long range training.

Lengthen biceps - My father had chronic shoulder pain for decades. Many years ago he tore his biceps at the top insertion throwing a ball for a dog and the pain went instantly. The biceps were pulling on the joint capsule and impairing shoulder mechanics.

Lying bicep curls or “Smith Curls” with light weights are one of the best ways to progress this mobility. Warm the area first with short range.

Lengthen pec major - deep dips, deficit push-ups, flies, single arm hanging (progress load towards and beyond bodyweight).

Lengthen pec minor - deep dips, deficit push-ups, flies

Improve thoracic extension - Bench press over a foam roller, cross-bench pullovers and work on back bridge variations to improve thoracic extension.

Why All The Shoulder Issues?

#1 Our tendency to have the hands in front of the body all day. Think typing on the phone or keyboard, writing, driving etc. This gentle zombification of mankind is causing shoulder, spine, hip and even foot issues.

#2 The trend for focussing on bench press, curls and military presses without pullovers, external rotations, pull-aparts.

#3 Poor quality tissues in general from poor health, diet, digestion, lifestyle.

#4 We don’t throw, hang and support weight anymore… that’s what shoulders are designed for.

The good news is that a few MINUTES of opposing strength work performed consistently can change the shoulder.

The reason for the supports and hangs is that we we want JOINT stimulus as well as tendon and muscle. The bones need to push together and the connective tissues need to be strained to move closer to their potential.

The Types Of Movement

#0 Down Stream - Bring life to the area with indirect work

Biceps and triceps with the arms by the side.

Forearm training.

The blood that goes to arms has to go past the shoulders. This creates a light but significant stimulus.

#1 SUPPORTS

Build strength with the shoulder by the side then progress.

The shoulder by the side is the default position that causes the least amount of stress.

Shrugging or pulsing these positions with an emphasis on scapular control can dramatically improve shoulder function.

Dip Bar Supports - start with feet on the ground, gradually increase weight.

Push-Up Position - on the knees, progress to feet, progress to most of the weight on one arm.

Overhead Supports - Support weight overhead with the hands at different widths.

Side Planks - This can be a challenging position to stabilise for the core and the shoulder.

#2 SUSPENSION / HANGING

Like the apes we are able to hang and when we do the tissues of the shoulder adapt to accommodate more hanging. Babies have great grip and hanging ability which gives us a clue that we’ve needed this ability in the past and we’re designed to do it.

Passive Hanging - this is when the muscles are allowed to relax. There will still be tension in the arm muscles otherwise the joints would become damaged with prolonged hanging. Passive hanging can be too demanding on damaged joints.

Active Hanging - this is when the muscle aren’t allowed to relax and less tension is transferred to the passive structures of the joint.

Pulsing - Moving between active and passive hanging is a great way to stimulate the joint that is often possible when other movements cause pain.

Vertical Hang Arms By Sides - farmers carries and small movements with the arms y the sides make the shoulder work without moving it from its resting position. This is a strong starting position.

Horizontal hangs - like a rowing position are a gentle hang

Rear hang - CAUTION - Like a supinated back lever. No need to go heavy. Progress weight gradually.

Vertical Hang Overhead

start with feet on the floor
progress to feet off the floor
progress to one arm.

#3 PULLS

SCAP PULLS

An extension of active hanging scap pulls are great for controlling depression of the scapula.

ROWING

Rowing movements are often singled out as the saviour for shoulders. They are great because they are generally well tolerated but often they don’t get to the root cause for rebuilding shoulders.

Often someone can have 100% rowing function but can’t press without exceeding joint or tendon capacity.

One reason is because having the elbows near the trunk is much less challenging for shoulder stability than having the elbows close to the body.

CHIN UPS

Often well tolerated with shoulder joint limitations but generally not as important for improving balance or restoring pressing ability.

Variations - Arching pull-ups have a strong positive impact on thoracic mobility and posterior shoulder development which is often neglected.

FACE PULLS

Think of face pulls as a rowing movement with the upper are further away from the ribs. Face pull variations develop the posterior deltoids and external rotators more than rows do. They use the lats less.

#4 PRESSES

Free Weights

Decline & Horizontal presses will generally be accessible before incline and vertical pressing

Increase incline gradually towards pressing behind the neck.

Neutral and internally rotated DB’s (or bars) will generally be better tolerated than externally rotated DB’s.

Push-Ups

#1 Start with incline push-ups eg. push-ups against the wall or table

#2 Progress to flat ground push-ups & piked handstand push-ups

Start with lower tension variations by making the movement lighter and or shorter range of motion in the earlier sets.

#5 REBALANCING

External Rotations

Short Range - Side lying external rotations or cable external rotations.

Mid Range - Strict external rotations over 10% of AC Bench.

Long Range - Lying on the back

Posterior Deltoids

Long Range - Powell Raise

Short Range - Reverse flies

Trap 3

Short Range - Trap 3 Raise 8% of AC Bench (mobility is a key factor along with strength.

Transcript

I've got a sequence here for you to get your shoulders prepared for just about anything.

The first one is going to be very familiar, working in the inner range for the posterior delt.

The back of the shoulder is working hard here, if we can stretch across the body and really fight for that last part, that's going to help us prepare for what's coming next.

The next one is to stand on the bed and then lateral raises or even get up all the way overhead.

Those are for me.

With weightlifting, you can do it a bit like a snatch, bringing life into the shoulders.

Next one's a bit of a funky one in range for the pecs.

Crossing the body, you're going to get quite a bit of tension in the band with this one.

Across the body about 10 reps.

Those who have under-active pecs, which is always an issue for me, you're more likely to tear a muscle that is tight and weak.

That's going to make the muscle tight because we're working the inner range but it's going to activate it which means we can get into the next part

Once we've got the inner range warmed up, some life into the shoulders, then we're gonna go into outer range.

This is just restoring what kids are able to do.

This burns quite light for this movement but you'll see I'm getting that Usain bolt shoulder position. You want to be able to hold the shoulder in this position. When you go lower, you're going to find even more stretch.

As you go heavier with the band, it's going to feel more and more intense, more like a back lever.

From there, out of range for the pec.

For this position, use the pec lower, use the pec 45 above the body. Here's the pec.

We want to build this outer range strength so that we don't get pec tears, to restore human mechanics to the shoulder. How the shoulder is meant to be. If we undid a lot of the sitting and forward shoulder posture, that's common in the modern world.

Next one, I like to double over the band. We're gonna grab it as if it's like a bar above the head and we're doing like a behind-the-neck press.

We're going to come all the way down to 90 degrees behind the body.

If you're getting any pain or impinging in the shoulder just go to where the challenge is, you might find switching the triceps on a little bit more helps to get it through.

As it's getting better, you can try to let the elbows come in behind the body as much as possible. You're going to find this makes your behind-the-neck press, which is often really uncomfortable for guys who've done a lot of bench press, done a lot of weights, it will become much easier. You're going to feel a lot of life coming into the shoulders with this sequence.

Test it out.

Let me know your feedback.

RealMVMT shoulders piece

In the 21st century, we have our arms in front of our bodies too much.

We don't put our hands above our heads.

Modern trends in weight training do little to improve the situation.

1. Regain lost mobility.

2. Create high blood flow to the area - blood regenerates tissues.

3. Create balance around the joint.

My dad had chronic shoulder pain. Then he tore his biceps, full rupture, then his shoulder pain was gone. This is not uncommon.

Basically, we have forgotten what humans do. It hurts us whenever we do it. Shoulders an example. Shoulders need to go overhead and behind the body.

Sprinting and catching above the head will be negatively impacted by restricted range. The spine curving forwards (thoracic kyphosis) adds to the effect.

When you regain high function and health you need to take less medicine.

Those with very broken bodies may need isolated correctives.

If the correctives aren't returning you to human then they will not do the job.

Extreme ability and resilience are the opposite of injury and fragility.

Principles

It's all loaded stretching

> the question is "how much load."

Whenever we move to an end-range position it's a battle between the passive tension on one side of the joint and the strength on the other side. While some say strength is the answer this is equivalent to trying to fill the bathtub faster without a plug. Decreasing tension on the other side of the joint changes a maximal strength movement into a simple task. No more strength needed.

Blood and heat heal >

Contrary to the status quo of sports medicine the body sends more blood, heat, and immune activity to injured body parts. The system has worked so well that we exist as humans. Creating metabolic stress and "pump" to an injured area of the body is one of the best ways to rebuild a struggling body part. Think super high reps with single joint stretch / moderate stretch, blood flow restriction / floss-bands & or long duration isometrics. For the shoulders, there are many options for this type of movement. Bottom position push-ups are a great place to start.

2 Joint Stretch >

Most people think if the elbow straightens on a preacher or standing curl then it's full range of motion. In fact, the unexplored range of motion is key to regaining resilience and the ability lost through shoulder pain. Only when we go into Commerford or low incline curls do we actually put the biceps on stretch. We must go into these ranges to create high function joints and tissues. Many people tear their biceps attempting back levers for this very reason. Quad tendon pain? Same story. Achilles? Could be.

Using This Guide.

Solve your shoulder problems piece by piece.

Just one of these pieces may well be enough to get you back to bench pressing. Snatching might take a few more steps.

The shoulder has a lot more options and therefore more solutions than a more hinge-like joint like the knee.

These movements should be done for higher reps > x10-50.

Frequency is your friend while intensity stays low.

Key Positions

1. Pullover / Back Bridge

2. German Hang / Extended Incline Curl

3. Incline Dislocate

4. Bottom Position Dip / Bottom Position Planche Push-Up

5. Hang

Top 4 Movements

Starters

1. Bottom Position Tall P-Bar Bounces

2. Progressive incline bicep curls

3. Cross Bench Pullovers

4. Seated External Rotations

Intermediate

1. Bottom Position Ring Dip Pulses

2. Bench Curls

3. Mexican handstands to the wall

4. Cuban Rotations

Advanced

1-2. become bottom position of the dip on the ring to supinated back lever (start with this and you'll likely detach both biceps)

3. Back bridge to handstand

4. Sotts press 3/4 bodyweight and Klokov Raises

. One arm handstand

Assessment

1. What hurts?

2. What can you do that doesn't hurt?

3. Let's get to work.

Ok, it doesn't have to be this streamlined but there is only so long you need to examine and quantify a turd before you can move on to creating something good.

Shoulder extension

Shoulder flexion

Internal rotation

External rotation

Behind the neck press

Active Circles - forwards, backward, across the body

"Looks right, flies right." Charlie Francis

Shoulder Extension

This may be enough to get your shoulders healthy.

Shoulder Extension

Bent arm

1. Bottom position dips.

2. Bottom position push-ups.

3. Bottom position shoulder stands.

Straight arm to bent arm

1. Incline curls

2. Commerford / Bench curls

Straight arm

1. Planche raises

2. Skin the cat

3. Back Lever Pulls ( go slow with these if you don't want an emergency release on your biceps tendons.

Externally Rotated Ring Supports these are not end range but you will see many people who have too much shoulder dysfunction to lock the elbows on this movement. It will come as the biceps are strengthened and lengthened.

Shoulder Flexion

If having the hands in from of the body is often a big part of the issue why would I want increased shoulder flexion?

Getting the arms overhead challenges the rotator cuffs & lower traps. It stretches the lats for most people (who have such tight lats that anything close to arms vertical overhead requires a backbend).

Hand-balancers tend to have healthy shoulders. So will you when you get very comfortable overhead.

Bent Arm

1. Handstand Presses

2. Behind The Neck Presses - bottom 1/2, modified Sotts press on incline board

3. French Presses - Getting into the lats and the long head of triceps, bottom 1/2 especially

4. Extended Range Of Motion Single Arm DB Presses

Straight Arm

Handstands

Nose to wall holds

Mexican heels to wall handstands

Back bridges

Single Arm Handstands

Press handstand drills

Planche Holds

Overhead Carries

Single-arm - Kettlebells, dumbells, barbells

Double arm - barbell, yoke

Cross Bench Pullover Front Of Bench - not technically straight arm but it feels like it most of the time. The front of the bench will open your thoracic most.

Cross Bench Pullover Back Of Bench - not technically straight arm but it feels like it most of the time. The back of the bench will open the shoulder most.

Pecs

1. Lying Weighted Angels

like flies but instead of lifting and lowering you stay on stretch moving between overhead down to hip height under control through the whole range.

2. Incline Dislocates - these are amazing for snatch awareness and safety. A nice variation on these if they're getting too heavy is behind the neck presses on the same incline with slightly more weight than you can handle on the rotations (dislocates).

. Ring Flies

3. Heavy partial bench curls - bottom position bench press, neutral grip. Open and close the elbow joint 45-90 degrees. 20kg is heavy for me on these.

Remedial's

Rows

1. Single-arm / cambered bar/ring rows. Mostly for inner range pauses.

2. Sternum chin-ups

Rotator Cuff / Trap 3 / Posterior Deltoids

Think of these movements as medicine for the sick. Like lateral banded walks and clams for the lower body. These are small insignificant movements for high function shoulders.

In the absence of shoulder ability, these movements will make all the difference.

External Rotators

1. Elbow by side

2. Seated External rotations

3. Cuban Rotations

Lower Traps (trap 3)

1. Trap 3 cable

2. Trap 3 DB

3. Klokov Raises

Posterior Deltoids

1. Band Pull-aparts

2. Powell raise

The Shoulder Solution - 3 Short & 3 Long Range Movements For Healthy Shoulders.

Elite Shoulder Function