By Paul Chek, HHP, NMT
Founder, C.H.E.K. Institute

To be sure, poorly performed shoulder and arm exercises can cause problems throughout the body. Thus, it's critical for you to avoid bad training habits during these workouts, because the shoulder is the workhorse of the arm, just like the hip is the workhorse of the leg. Unlike the hip, though, the shoulder also serves as the foundation for the head-neck-jaw complex.

The head -- neck -- jaw complex is very sensitive to position, particularly because it is the location of the eyes, ears and teeth. We humans were designed to have our eyes, inner ear and teeth oriented parallel to the horizon. This is because we always needed to see what may try to eat us and to see what we wanted to eat (that's much more fun!).

When exercising your shoulders in the gym, you should always be aware of the posture of your head and neck. It is critically important not to develop bad training habits with regard when using your arms and shoulders. Exercising with poor posture and bad training habits during shoulder and arm exercises will cause problems throughout the entire body! If your technique isn't optimal, consider the short list below just a sampling of the problems you'll face:

• Tension and post-workout headaches
• Rotator cuff strains and tears
• Shoulder impingement syndrome

In general, never perform any exercise for longer than four weeks at a time to reduce your chances of overloading the tissues that are worked specific to that pattern. To prevent unwanted neck and shoulder problems for specific types of exercises, consider these training tips:

Upright Rows

When doing upright rows, don't allow your elbows to rise above the height of your shoulders. Also, grasp the bar using a grip width that allows your outstretched thumbs to touch. This aids in keeping the shoulder in an optimal working plane, called the scapular plane (Figure 1).

Don't do the Row-to-Neck lift (Figure 2). This exercise, performed by pulling the bar up to the neck, can damage the shoulder. Rowing to a more natural height is more effective and safer as well.

Shoulder Shrugs

During shoulder shrugs, always keep your cheekbone directly over your collarbone. Never protrude your head as you shrug (Figure 3). Also, allowing your head to lean forward encourages poor posture and neck pain. Additionally, shrugging and rolling your shoulders backward helps improve scapular stabilization (Figure 4).

Pushing, Pulling or Pressing

Always maintain neutral spine alignment and keep your cheekbone over your collarbone when doing any pushing, pulling or pressing exercises (Figures 5, 6). Allowing the head to protrude stresses the lower neck and can cause disk problems. When performing presses, especially the bench press, you may be tempted to allow your elbows to drop down as far as possible when lowering the barbell or dumbbells to increase the range of motion for the chest. Avoid this temptation, as it can damage the shoulder.

To determine how far you should be lowering the bar, assume the bench press position, for example, without any weight. Allow your arms to fall naturally to the bottom of the press movement (Figure 7). In other words, this is the position where the arm naturally stops without being forced. At this point, you have determined the exact point at which the shoulder joint capsule becomes the primary restraint to the shoulder's range of motion.

Once you have identified the end position of passive shoulder range of motion with the bench press range of motion test, lift the arm 2-3 cm to find your optimal bottom position for the bench press exercise (Figure 8). This creates a small buffer zone (10-15 degrees) that will protect the joint capsule from overload when the weights get heavy or you get tired.

Follow these tips in the gym and you'll find you can train more consistently and achieve better results.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

For further information on the shoulder and how to train it safely and effectively, I recommend the following C.H.E.K products:

• Gym Instructor (Video)
• Scientific Rotation Training (Audio)
• Controversy and Current Concepts of Pulling Exercises 2003 (Audio)
• The Golf Biomechanic's Manual (Book)

Paul Chek, Holistic Health Practitioner and certified Neuromuscular Therapist, is the founder of the C.H.E.K Institute in Vista, Calif. He is also sought-after consultant to sports organizations, his services have benefited numerous professional sports teams, athletes and individuals seeking optimal health worldwide.

Paul has produced more than 60 videos, 17 correspondence courses and is the author of several books, audio programs and articles. For more information on Paul's popular "You Are What You Eat" audio/workbook program, or for any of his other health/exercise courses, videos and books, call 800/552-8789, 800/552-8789 (New Zealand or Australia), 44 (0)1273-856-860 (Great Britain) or visit online at the CHEK Institute Web site. Please feel free to request a catalog of CHEK Institute products.

Related Articles:

Would You Like to Trade Your Shoulders for a Set of Lats?

Swiss Ball Training for Swimmers

Rev It Up And Go: How to Warm Up for a Workout

Balance Training For the Elderly