Do you do any rotator cuff work?

[Carl Carlson]

I never did but I banged up my shoulder last week so I've been doing some rotator cuff exercises to help heal it up. For some reason I always neglected it but I'm thinking I'll keep up with it as a preventative measure...

Anyone else do rotator cuff exercises regularly?

 

[tzan]

I do 2 light exercises for my cuffs before I hit the weights on chest/front delts day.

 

[GEEK2FREAK]

theres a car shop down the road to does a damn good rotator cuff job

 

[cmdubs]

I don't...need to find some and start ASAP. Mine have been getting progressively worse.

 

[Carl Carlson]

http://familydoctor.org/265.xml

I've been doing these and they seem to work.

 

[Chambewy20]

From www.elitefts.com in the FAQ under the Q/A.

Start with the cuff complex which is listed below.

Use 5 pounds for all the movements.

Overhead press

Overhead triceps extension

Side raises with thumbs up

Side raises with thumbs middle

Front raise with thumbs up

Front raise with thumbs middle

Bent side raise thumbs up

Bent side raise thumbs middle

Bent front raise thumbs up

Bent front raise thumbs middle

Zottsman curl – this is like a curl with an extra twist at the top.

External rotation – only top half

External rotation – only bottom half



Start with one set of 10 reps with 5 pounds and work up to 2 sets of 20 with 20 pounds over time ( by this I mean months, not by next week).



When finished with this do the following shoulder traction work.



Lay on bench with a average or light band set up like you would a reverse band press. Lay on the bench and strap the band around your wrist (don’t grab the band, you want all the stretch to go to the shoulder and not be limited by your grip strength). Let the band pull your arm up and out. Move the arm around to try and lengthen the shoulder joint.

Do the same as above with the band wrapped around the power rack in different locations, except now you will be standing in front of the rack with the band on the side post of the rack. Move and stretch in every direction you can think of.

Do the traction work before and after all training sessions. Do the cuff work 4 – 5 times the first week, 3 times the second week and then only on upper body days after that.



Other Stuff:

-Use a cut up bench shirt for all bench training. This should be a loose shirt.

-Drop the bands on the squat for awhile. You have time. Try the Safety Squat bar for a three week phase. The first two weeks use 15 sets of 2 reps. The last two weeks will be 8 sets 2 reps. Also use your squat suit straps down and try to use a medium stance. I actually like to use three different stances; close, medium and wide.

-Keep icing it.

Remember when it begins to feel better you HAVE to keep with the above stuff in some form or another to keep it from coming back.

 

[TheOak84]

i do one that simulates an arm wrestling motion.

i go on the hip machine that the ladies use, and i set it up like im arm wrestling a person. i use like 10 pounds and do 3x20 o each arm.

i actually did them yesterday after a chest work out and im pretty sore

 

[pikerules]

I had what they call an unstable rotator cuff in college. The phys therapist thought it was from too much working out on machines instead of free weights, so my larger muscles were getting too strong compared to stabilizers. She gave a workout routine pretty much like the ones already posted.

Two months of it and no problems for years until very recently. I started doing more weight (~85 - 90 lbs) on my bent dumbbell rows, and sometimes my right arm feels like it jumps out of the socket momentarily, and I have to stop the set. It seems to affect my dumbbell curls too because I can usually do 1-2 more reps with my left arm. Maybe time to do the routine again to tighten things up.

I would add thumbs-down dumbbell raise to the list. It's like a front raise but you have your arms open a little more so your thumb can point down comfortably.

 

[Neo22]

I do these before each workout. I had surgery about 1 1/2 years ago so I don't want to tear my shoulder up again. I will say that anything over 10lbs for a rotator cuff movement is beyond stupid and any PT will tell you that.

 

[super_rice]

it is extremely important to work your external rotators, since most people's internal rotators (pecs) are massively disproportional to them. i do them and apparently, it helps with longevity and avoiding shoulder issues in the future