The wrong shoulder exercises can result in a torn rotator cuff and a host of other problems. Most people don’t give any consideration to the shoulder joint until it starts showing the signs of stiffness, inflammation, and loss of mobility. Given that this joint is used for nearly every major arm movement, aggressive exercises while bearing an excess amount of weight are never a good idea. Good toning and muscle development are usually the results of slow, controlled movements that entail a very moderate amount of additional weight. The goal of these efforts is to stress the muscles for increased development, without putting any undue strain on the joint. Mensjournal considers that all these shoulder exercises that can do more harm than good along with a few tips for fixing them.
Front Raises
Your rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that surround the ball of the shoulder joint. Whenever you engage in an activity that requires you to raise your arms over your head, shoulder impingement occurs. This is when the rotator cuff muscles get pinched by the shoulder blade. Although shoulder impingement is a naturally occurring event each time the arms are raised to a certain height, it becomes especially problematic if the arms are raised during a weight-bearing exercise. This is all the more true when people attempt to lift a large amount of weight. To reduce the likelihood of muscle injury while performing front raises, make sure that your hands never travel higher than your shoulders. If holding the weights up above the top of the head and then lowering them in a reverse front raise, make sure that you are using a very modest amount of weight and that your movements are slow and controlled.
Side Raises
Side raises typically end at or below shoulder height, which limits the likelihood of shoulder impingement. These exercises, however, become problematic as soon as people start jerking their weights up and down, rather than using controlled movements. If you are unable to keep your side raises slow and controlled, and within an acceptable range of motion, you are lifting more weight than you can safely manage and should reduce this amount until you reach a comfortable and more manageable level.
Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are great for developing the shoulders and back, but they can also lead to shoulder injury if they are not done properly. The key to optimizing your pull-up lies in developing your core muscles first, before attempting to bear your entire body weight on your arms. Believe it or not, this is a whole upper body exercise and one that is heavily reliant upon the core muscle group. Stop trying to pull yourself up with brute force and condition your abdomen by holding the plank position or doing reverse crunches in a prone position. When your core muscles can engage and assist in lifting the body up, you are far less likely to experience a serious shoulder impingement and a painful rotator cuff injury.
