When people are performing heavy shoulder exercises, very often they are making mistakes in form that can easily result in a very painful injury. This article discusses some things to think about during your workout that can minimize the risk of this type of injury.
The shoulder is a complicated structure. It can take years of doing an exercise incorrectly before a serious shoulder injury occurs. The reality is that these injuries have been building up for a long time due to incorrect
form and over training. If you avoid these common mistakes you should have an injury-free shoulder.
1) Back bending. It is easy to arch your back, get more leverage and lift heavier weights. The problem with this is that it puts a large strain on your low back which can result in a very painful injury. Also, by using your back as a lever like this you are actually taking some of the load from the very muscles you are trying to train.
2) Follow the form of the exercise. If you exaggerate the motion you will put the joint in an unnatural position therefore greatly increase the risk of injury. It may be true that lifting the weight further will result in a gain of strength. While this in theory is correct, the actual gain you get versus the risk of injury make this practice unworthwhile.
3) When working out the shoulders while standing, many people lock their knees and lean backwards and then forwards. Again, this can cause injury to the lower back. You should keep your knees unlocked and focus on keeping your body vertical.
4) Behind the neck pull downs are a very efficient way of tearing you rotator cuff if done incorrectly. You should always pull the weight down in front of your chest. This will avoid the acute anterior rotation of your arm that leads to these types of injuries. You also only really need to bring the bar down to eye level.
If you follow these simple tips you should not have to worry about shoulder injuries through weight training. A long period of rest and no workouts are the likely outcome of a shoulder injury. My friend tore his rotator cuff muscle while doing behind the neck pull downs. It was six months before he was able to train like he was pre-injury so please do bear this in mind when you are next working out your shoulders.