Building Bulletproof Shoulders: For Strength, Mobility, Resilience, & Stability
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the complex nature of the shoulder joint, often a focal point for athletes and lifters due to its high mobility and susceptibility to injury. It discusses the shoulder's anatomy, including the four joints and surrounding muscles, and the importance of scapulohumeral rhythm for shoulder health. The script offers insights on common shoulder issues, such as impingement and internal rotation, and provides various exercises and tips to improve shoulder stability, control, mobility, and strength, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to prevent injuries and enhance performance.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The shoulder is a complex joint involving four different joints and around 20 muscles, making it prone to injury and requiring a balanced approach for strength and mobility.
- 🏋️♂️ The glenohumeral joint is the main focus for shoulder health, being a ball and socket joint that requires stability for heavy lifting and mobility for a wide range of motion.
- 💪 The rotator cuff muscles, including the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor, are crucial for connecting the humerus to the scapula and maintaining shoulder health.
- 👐 Proper scapulohumeral rhythm, the coordinated movement of the shoulder blade and ball and socket joint, is essential for shoulder health but is often lost due to modern lifestyle habits.
- 🔄 Common causes of shoulder pain, such as improper bench press technique, can be mitigated by focusing on retracting the shoulder blades and maintaining scapular stability during lifts.
- 🏋️♀️ Training for scapular movements separately through accessory lifts like push-ups, scapular push-ups, and scapular rows can help improve shoulder stability and health.
- 📏 Overhead mobility is critical for preventing impingement and injury, especially during movements like the overhead press, and can be improved through exercises that emphasize scapular control.
- 🤲 Internal rotation of the humerus can lead to impingement; strengthening the rotator cuffs and practicing good movement can help correct this issue.
- 🧘♂️ Stretching and strengthening exercises for the pecs, lats, and serratus anterior can help improve scapular movement and prevent winging, which affects shoulder mobility and stability.
- 🤸♂️ The overhead squat is a comprehensive test of shoulder and hip mobility, providing a benchmark for overall body mobility and a drill for improvement.
- 🧗♀️ Building strength in agonistic muscles and practicing exercises like the lift-off, Y, and W can help overcome resistance from tight antagonistic muscles, further improving shoulder mobility and function.
Q & A
What is the shoulder complex and why is it important for athletes and lifters?
-The shoulder complex refers to the main shoulder joint and its associated structures, including the glenohumeral, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular joints, and the scapulo-thoracic joint. It is important for athletes and lifters because it is the most mobile joint in the human body, allowing a wide range of motion necessary for various physical activities.
How many muscles are involved in coordinating movement across the shoulder joints?
-Around 20 different muscles coordinate movement across the shoulder joints, primarily dealing with the humerus, clavicle, and scapula.
What are the four rotator cuff muscles that connect the humerus to the scapula?
-The four rotator cuff muscles are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor.
Why is the glenohumeral joint a significant focus area in shoulder health and training?
-The glenohumeral joint is a ball and socket joint that connects the top of the humerus to the glenoid fossa of the scapula. It is significant because it is the main joint responsible for the shoulder's mobility and stability, and it is connected to the scapula by seven muscle tendon units.
What is the scapulohumeral rhythm and how does it relate to shoulder health?
-The scapulohumeral rhythm refers to the coordinated movement of the ball and socket joint of the shoulder alongside the shoulder blade. It is crucial for shoulder health as it allows for a proper range of motion and stability, which is essential for preventing injuries and enhancing performance.
Why is the bench press a common cause of shoulder pain and what can be done to prevent it?
-The bench press can cause shoulder pain due to improper scapular movement and lack of stabilization. To prevent it, one should retract the shoulder blades, depress the shoulders, and push through the chest and triceps, which provides a more stable base and reduces the risk of injury.
How can accessory lifts help in strengthening the scapula and improving shoulder health?
-Accessory lifts, such as push-ups and scapular rows, help in strengthening the scapula by training the muscles responsible for scapular protraction, retraction, and stabilization, thereby improving overall shoulder health and function.
What is the relationship between the shoulder's ability to move and its stability during heavy weight lifting?
-The shoulder needs to be stable to push heavy weights without dislocating, yet it also needs to maintain its mobility for a wide range of motion. The balance between mobility and stability is achieved through the coordinated action of the muscles around the shoulder joint and the scapula.
What is impingement and how can it be caused by improper shoulder movement?
-Impingement occurs when the tendons and muscles in the shoulder joint get compressed or 'bunched up' due to improper movement, such as not having enough mobility to create room and open up the subacromial space, leading to pain and potential injury.
How can exercises like the lift off, Y, and W help improve shoulder mobility and strength?
-Exercises like the lift off, Y, and W help improve shoulder mobility by stretching the muscles and tendons in various positions, and they build strength in the agonistic muscles to overcome resistance from tight antagonistic muscles, thus enhancing overall shoulder function.
Why is it important to consider the body's overall mobility when addressing shoulder mobility issues?
-Considering the body's overall mobility is important because issues in one part of the body can affect other areas. For example, tight hips from prolonged sitting can lead to postural imbalances that affect shoulder mobility, so a comprehensive approach to mobility is necessary.
What is an overhead squat and how can it be used to assess and improve shoulder and hip mobility?
-An overhead squat is an exercise where you hold a weight overhead in a straight position and squat down fully. It is used to assess overall mobility and strength as it requires good shoulder and hip mobility to perform correctly. Practicing the overhead squat can also help improve these mobility aspects.
Outlines
🏋️♂️ Understanding the Shoulder Complex and Its Role in Athletic Performance
This paragraph delves into the anatomy of the shoulder, often a focal point for athletes due to its complexity and mobility. The shoulder, or 'shoulder complex,' is composed of four joints and approximately 20 muscles that coordinate movement across three main bones: the humerus, clavicle, and scapula. The glenohumeral joint is highlighted as a critical ball-and-socket joint connecting the upper arm to the scapula. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of muscle tendon units, particularly the rotator cuff muscles, in shoulder stability and function. It also touches on common issues like shoulder pain during bench presses and the importance of proper scapular movement and muscle balance for shoulder health.
💪 Enhancing Shoulder Stability and Mobility Through Targeted Exercises
The second paragraph focuses on exercises and techniques to improve shoulder stability and mobility. It discusses the importance of scapular retraction and protraction, and how they can be trained through push-ups, scapular push-ups, and planche leans. The paragraph also covers exercises like scapular rows for scapular attraction, and the use of L-sits for scapular depression. It addresses the inherent contradiction of the shoulder needing to be both stable and mobile, and how exercises like overhead presses and shrugs can help train the shoulder for these dual requirements. The paragraph concludes with advice on how to deal with common mobility issues, such as internal rotation and scapular movement, and the role of external rotation in preventing impingement.
🤸♂️ Building Bulletproof Shoulders: Strength, Mobility, and Prevention of Injury
The final paragraph wraps up the discussion on shoulder health by emphasizing the need to train stability, scapular control, mobility, and strength. It suggests exercises like lift-offs, Y, W, and tennis ball throws to improve overhead mobility and strength. The paragraph also highlights the importance of considering the body as a whole, noting how issues in one area, such as tight hips, can affect shoulder mobility. It introduces the overhead squat as a test for overall mobility and strength, and recommends various stretches and exercises to improve shoulder and hip mobility. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to engage with the content, share their tips, and consider the presenter's ebook and training program for a comprehensive approach to shoulder health and performance.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Shoulder Complex
💡Glenohumeral Joint
💡Rotator Cuff
💡Scapulohumeral Rhythm
💡Impingement
💡Internal Rotation
💡External Rotation
💡Scapular Winging
💡Lift Off
💡Y, W Exercises
💡Overhead Squat
Highlights
The shoulder is a complex joint with high mobility, often a concern for athletes and lifters.
The shoulder complex consists of four joints and around 20 muscles coordinating movement.
The glenohumeral joint is a ball and socket joint critical for shoulder movement.
Seven muscle tendon units connect the humerus to the scapula, including the rotator cuff muscles.
Proper scapulohumeral rhythm is essential for shoulder health and involves coordinated movement of the shoulder blade and ball and socket joint.
Many people have lost the ability to move the shoulder blade and ball and socket joint in harmony due to modern lifestyles.
The bench press can cause shoulder pain due to improper scapular movement and lack of scapulohumeral rhythm.
To improve bench press form, retract and depress the shoulder blades to provide a stable base for lifting.
Training scapular protraction and retraction separately can enhance shoulder stability and strength.
Scapular rows and L-sit exercises are effective for training scapular attraction and depression.
Overhead movements require both stability and mobility to prevent injury and impingement.
Internal rotation of the humerus can lead to impingement by closing the subacromial space.
External rotation and proper scapular movement can prevent impingement during overhead exercises.
Scapular winging, caused by weak serratus anterior, can impede range of motion and reduce stability.
Stretching tight pecs and lats with exercises like dumbbell pullovers can improve shoulder mobility.
Hanging exercises can counteract shoulder mobility issues by stretching muscles and increasing range of motion.
The overhead squat is a comprehensive test for shoulder and hip mobility, indicating overall body flexibility.
Lift off, Y, and W exercises are effective for building strength in the agonistic muscles to overcome tightness in antagonistic muscles.
Transcripts
it should come as no surprise that the
shoulder is so often an area of concern
for athletes and lifters the main
shoulder joint is the most mobile joint
in the human body we even refer to the
shoulder as the shoulder complex and
it's not just one joint it's four the
glenohumeral joint the acromioclavicular
joint the sternoclavicular joint and the
scapulo-thoracic joint around 20
different muscles coordinate movement
across these joints which deal primarily
with three bones the humerus that's the
upper arm the clavicle the collar bone
and the scapula which is of course the
shoulder blade
our main area of focus though is the
glenohumeral joint this is a ball and
socket joint that connects the top of
the humerus to the glenoid fossa the
cavity of the scapula there are seven
muscle tendon units responsible for
connecting the humerus to the scapula
alone the four rotator cuff muscles
those being the supraspinatus
infraspinatus subscapularis and teres
minor as well as the teres major
coracobrachialis and deltoids
then there are all the other muscles
that play a role in stabilizing and
controlling the shoulder complex the
teres major the traps the delts the pecs
pectoralis minor particularly and the
lats even the biceps you may remember
from my biceps video originate at the
scapula and aid with shoulder flexion so
if you feel pain in the front of your
shoulder this could even be an issue
with your biceps in other words it's a
bloody mess in here or a miracle of
engineering you decide your point of
view on that probably depends on how
your shoulder feels right now either way
there's a lot that can go wrong and a
lot we need to do if we're going to
build a powerful pain-free mobile and
aesthetic shoulders
it's terrible weather for filming the
floor's wet let's get on with the show
that really is the big challenge of the
shoulder joints it's a multi-axial joint
a synovial ball and socket joint it
needs to be able to move
up and down and forwards and back and
rotate just like your hip and at the
same time it also needs to be more
stable in order to push heavy weights
without popping out unlike your hip you
don't have the force of gravity forcing
the head of the ball and socket joint
into the socket and keeping it stable so
that's where the genius of the shoulder
blade comes in because whilst the
humerus is in a ball and socket joint
that ball and socket joint is also
attached to a bone that can itself move
thereby allowing for much greater range
of positions and by then fixing the
shoulder blade in place using those many
different muscles you can also provide
stability
and a lot of shoulder health comes down
to being able to move that ball and
socket joint alongside the shoulder
blade and this is called your
scapulohumeral rhythm your ability to
move those in accordance unfortunately
due to our modern lifestyles many of us
have lost this ability owing not only to
the fact that we're hunched over so much
but also the simple fact that we rarely
need to reach over our heads and if your
training program has a heavy bias
towards pushing movements that's just
going to exacerbate those issues so one
of the most common causes of shoulder
pain as the bench press there are a lot
of reasons for this you can have a bit
of internal rotation or flaring of the
elbows it completely removes that
scapular humeral rhythm that i was just
talking about because you're pinned
against a flat bench meaning that you
can't move you're not using the
stabilization of your shoulders you're
actually isolating the pecs and the
triceps much more and pushing through
those what you should actually be doing
on the bench is retracting the shoulder
blades as though you're trying to pinch
a coin between them do that at the same
time as depressing and then push just
through the chest and the triceps this
will give you a much more stable base it
allows to generate more power and it'll
put these shoulders in a more stable and
in a safer position in the real world
you'd never perform this movement you'd
never be lying flat on your back and
pushing a heavy amount of weight off you
unless you were trapped underneath a
collapsed building or a fallen tree and
that doesn't happen that often this
simply means that a lot of us lack the
experience with the bench press to know
how to perform it properly intuitively
and yet we go and pile on more and more
weight
now you're essentially balancing on your
spine because your shoulders are off the
bench and this is obviously inviting
injury
at the same time even if you are
retracting the shoulder blades properly
and you're doing a lot a lot of bench
press you're simply not training them to
protract so that when you push something
standing up you're not used to moving
them in the way that you're supposed to
what you can do is lighten the weight
slightly improve your technique by
focusing on retracting the shoulder
blades depressing the shoulders at the
same time and pushing through that way
alternatively what's even better is to
train those things separately through
accessory lifts to strengthen the
scapula one of the simplest ways is just
to do push-ups you're actually
encouraged here to protract the scapula
at the top of the movement the big
difference here of course is that when
you're performing a push-up you don't
have the bench you don't have that
counter pressure you're not being
sandwiched between something so it's
absolutely fine to push through the
shoulders as you normally would do if
you're pushing something standing up to
get that extra strength or if you want
to train your scapular protraction
specifically you can train using
scapular push-ups which is where you get
into a push-up position with your arm
straight and then only push by
protracting and retracting the scapula
or you can perform planche leans or
pseudo-planche push-up if you want to
train scapular attraction meanwhile then
one of the best ways you can do this is
with scapular rows and here you're going
to get into row position underneath the
bar and in a similar manner keep your
arms locked out straight and then row
yourself up pull yourself up but only by
retracting the scapula and then lower
yourself by protracting should be able
to depress your scapula and elevate them
there should be a shrug at the top of
any overhead pressing movement so you
can train this when you're performing
your military presses or with just
shrugs and if you want to train your
scapular depression then one of the best
ways to do this is with an exercise that
i only just talked about in depth that
being the l-sit here you're keeping your
arms locked out straight again and
you're pushing down with your legs
elevated and by pushing down through the
ground using your shoulders you give
yourself just enough clearance to get
your butt up off the floor then you're
going to raise your legs
so the inherent contradiction of these
shoulders is that they need to be not
only highly stable in all these
positions but also very mobile they need
to be able to get into all these
positions in the first place this is
important not only to allow you to
perform movements that require a greater
range of motion but also to prevent
injury in more basic exercises that
you're probably already doing and in
particular this is important for
overhead extension during movements like
the overhead press and the big issue
here is that many of us struggle to get
our arms up over our heads if you can't
move the shoulder joint correctly if you
don't have the mobility there you won't
be able to create enough room and open
up that subacromial space there's a lot
going on in here as we've just discussed
an awful lot of tendons and muscles
basically if you can't move your arm
properly this all gets bunched up and
squished and this is what we call
impingement and there are various
different issues that can cause this one
of the first and most commonly talked
about issues here is internal rotation
if your humerus is internally rotated
meaning that it's twisted towards your
body when your arms are hanging by your
sides
then that's going to close up this space
that when you try and lift your arm over
your head you're just bunching
everything up and you can cause
impingement and the easiest way to tell
if you're experiencing internal rotation
is to dangle your arms by your side and
then look at where they hang naturally
try not to control this movement and if
your palms are facing neutrally in
towards your body then that's a sign
that you're functioning normally if
they're facing backwards however or even
slightly backwards that's a little bit
of internal rotation and that's
something we want to fix by
strengthening the rotator cuffs but also
by just practicing good movement and
being more mindful of that during our
lifts what you want to do is make sure
that you're actively externally rotating
and the cue that people often give this
is to try and imagine that you're trying
to break the bar so i'm trying to bend
my hands in towards the middle in front
of me alternatively you can think of
this as trying to point your triceps
forwards when your arms are over your
head and now this can be a little bit
counterintuitive because
external rotation is judged based on
where your arms face when they're
hanging by your sides but at the same
time you can also just strengthen the
rotator cuffs with specific exercises
one of the most common being the side
lying external rotation where you lie on
one side with a light dumbbell and just
rotate outwards i talked about this in
the past but since then i found i much
prefer using a band holding it in either
hand and then rotating both shoulders
together pulling the band apart that way
and this is a great alternative because
it means a you can train anyway you need
to carry a dumbbell around with you
actually keep a resistance band in my
pockets wherever i go and at the same
time means you can train both sides at
the same time thereby halfing the amount
of time it takes to do this boring
exercise and the other issue to consider
is the way that your scapula are moving
during that overhead position because
what you actually want here is a upwards
rotation so the scapula should rotate
upwards as your arm moves up and also a
slight posterior tilt so that means that
you want your
scapula to tilt backwards like that once
again opening up that joint and giving
you more space
so if you feel your thumb underneath
your shoulder blade at the bottom you
essentially want to try and close that
gap so you can't fit a thumb or finger
behind there the problem is if you have
tight pecs or lats or weak traps then
you can actually end up with an anterior
tilt naturally as you go about your
business and this once again closes off
that range of motion likewise you might
experience scapular winging which is
caused by weak serratus anterior which
are supposed to keep your shoulder
blades nice and tight against your rib
cage this means that they essentially
move apart away from the midline of your
spine which then impedes your normal
range of motion and reduces stability
further so a lot of the scapular control
exercises we just talked about can help
you to fix this if you want to reduce
tightness in the pecs and in the lats
then one great move is to use dumbbell
pullovers and really focus on getting
full range of motion and feeling that
stretch it's also a weighted stretch so
it's fantastic for hypertrophy
especially building up that upper chest
which is often missing hangs are
basically exactly what they sound like
they just mean hanging from a bar and
presumably this is how we counteracted
many of these problems in the wild
through natural brachiation if you're
hanging from a tree branch or something
then you're stretching out the pecs
you're stretching out the lats and
you're getting your arms up in that
overhead position thereby increasing
mobility of course if this is something
that causes you pain then you don't want
to jump straight into it instead you can
support yourself just slightly with your
feet like so
or even like this
and just stay in that position and as
you get more confident
you can eventually let your entire
weight hang from that position and most
of you guys know that i have the gamma
cast kettlebell halos and the bulgarian
bag all for opening up the shoulder
joints as well because as the weight
moves around it's forcing you to not
only stabilize but also putting you into
a slight stretched position and helping
to open up the joint from all those
different angles you shouldn't think of
your mobility as isolated to specific
joints in your body but rather as a
global trait because issues in one part
of your body can cause cascading effects
throughout your body so when we're
talking about shoulder mobility what you
need to consider is a lot of people have
very tight hips because they spend all
day sitting so they have these tight hip
flexors which causes an anterior pelvic
tilt this in turn leads to lordosis in
the lumbar spine meaning that your lower
back is too arched inwards and as a
result they get kyphosis in the upper
spine which means that it's bent hunched
forwards so now if you consider that
you're in this position naturally and
you're trying to get your shoulders over
your head but your upper spine is
pointing forwards you're basically gonna
have to dislocate your arms to get them
up above your head and you need to work
on all these points so surprisingly even
stretching your hip flexors and your
legs in general can actually help you to
improve and unlock mobility in your
shoulders
one of the very best tests there is for
this kind of shoulder mobility combined
with hip mobility is an overhead squat
if you can hold a weight overhead in a
direct straight position and squat all
the way down this is a pretty good
benchmark in terms of your overall
mobility just to be clear this is not a
tutorial on how to overhead squat mine
still needs an awful lot of work all i'm
saying is that this is a great
tool to see where you're at in terms of
mobility and strength but also it can be
a good drill in itself that you can
practice to improve that mobility and of
course you don't have to use any weight
at all you can just use a bar
or a stick this is actually a bar from a
pull-up bar that i keep around and you
can just perform this whenever whilst
your computer's loading for instance and
the last piece of the puzzle when it
comes to overhead mobility is to build
the strength you need to build strength
in the agonistic muscles so you can
overcome the resistance provided by the
tightness in those antagonistic muscles
one you can do is something called a
lift off and here what you're going to
do is you're going to use an external
anchor point to force yourself into an
overhead resistance gently maintaining
external rotation neutral hand position
and then what you're going to do is try
and lift your hands off of that support
but maintain that position so you're
using assistance to get into a deeper
stretch than you otherwise could then
you're trying to hold yourself in that
position using just your strength tom
merrick has a great video with these
which i highly recommend and he has a
lot of good advice for shoulder
bulletproofing in general
to demonstrate these exercises i'm gonna
have to lie on this wet dirty floor i
don't know why other fitness youtubers
don't seem to have to do this kind of
thing
but
the show must go on so another great one
is the y exercise and here you're going
to lie face down and then you're just
going to try and raise your arms above
like that using just your own strength
once again maintain a more neutral
position you can also do this holding
onto a bar and then you've got the w
exercise which is similar here you're
going to have your elbows slightly more
down so you're making more of a w shape
hence the name and you're going to
involve a little bit more scapular
retraction here and this is a good one
for once again training that scapular
humeral rhythm fitness faqs has a
fantastic video on these so i highly
recommend that one too but a little tip
if you want to make it more fun is to
hold two tennis balls and throw them and
catch them from that position other
fitness youtubers
me
there you go it really is a puzzle we
need to train stability scapular control
mobility and strength and if you combine
all these things then you can build some
really bulletproof shoulders that will
also enhance your performance in lifts
and athletic pursuits as well as just
keeping you free from injury i hope you
found this video useful and interesting
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immensely let me know in the comments
down below what your favorite tips are
for strengthening and improving mobility
in the shoulders if you like this kind
of training that looks at performance
from different angles then you might
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