Shoulder Work

[SURFTEXAS]

Lately my left shoulder has been feeling a little strained when I do dips or even move it a certain way, like its about to give out. Ive heard about people hurting their shoulder doing heavy bench, and that's definitely not the direction I want to move in.

What are some good excercises to strengthen my shoulder for compound movements like bench, dips? Should I work out the smaller muscles (like my rotator-cuff) or just continue to do shoulder presses, etc. THanks

 

[bigstve12]

if you wanna be in the game for the long haul, you need to achieve balance, so yes you should work the rotator cuffs

 

[The Red Dragon]

internal/external rotations basically and lateral raises (arms straight), these are to be done with very light weights.

Torn rotators can take you out of the lifting game for a good 3-6 months, so make sure you work them (don't work them before a benching or shoulder workouts, they're one of those things you don't want to pre-exhaust )

 

[Curious George]

I agree with the external and internal rotation exercises.

I also see a lot of people fail to work their rear delts hard. This imbalance can cause problems down the road in the rotators or other areas of the shoulder.

Make sure to hit the rears HARD!