Upright Rows Dangerous?

[The Red Dragon]

I get a great medial deltoid/upper trap pump from them that I don't get from lateral raises. But I notice a teeny bit of shoulder pain the following days, although it could have been the military press. Obviously it's not worth it (for my body).

Watcha think?

 

[megad]

I feel pain in both of my wrists while doing these.
Other than that, I like this excercise alot for traps. A combo of these and shrugs will get your traps really sore the next day

 

[slinky]

I like a wider than normal grip for uprights. Also, when I'm rowing the bar up, it's a bit away from my body, and as I'm bringing the bar down, it's close to the body.

I also keep my thumbs relaxed; this all helps with avoiding wrist pain.

But I do love upright rows. Haven't done them in awhile, might be time to try 'em again.

 

[T-Rage]

They have always bothered me and when a movement doesn't feel right I don't do it. I even tried starting out with really light weight which helped but it still didn't feel quite right. Given the vulnerability of the shoulder I choose not to take my chances. I'll find another movement.

 

[Vortexx]

experiment with cable and dumbell upright rows.

 

[SeymourCuts]

I get a great medial deltoid/upper trap pump from them that I don't get from lateral raises. But I notice a teeny bit of shoulder pain the following days, although it could have been the military press. Obviously it's not worth it (for my body).

Watcha think?

Depending on bone structure and rotator cuff strength/flexibility, it can either be hard on the cuff and not worth it, or a great exercise for the traps and delts. Even if it doesn't cause pain in your shoulder right now, doing it without having solid back training and external rotator exercises in your routine somewhere will probably lead to problems down the road. When I used to do them, I would do them with the EZ Curl bar. No wrist pain doing them with that.

 

[bigstve12]

I read upright rows cause shouler impingment....I still do them though, probably my favorite shoulder exercise. Like seymour says, just make sure to balane out the rotator cuffs

 

[casualbb]

The issue with upright rows is that it puts stress on your rotator cuff while in a stretched position. It's really a hit-or-miss thing with them in terms of injuries...some people get them, some never have issues. I'd recommend just a lateral raise (DB or preferably machine) instead.

-casual

 

[vinylgroover]

They have never really done anything for me. I just stick to various presses, deadlifts and pull-ups.

 

[The Red Dragon]

The problem is that there aren't many movements that can hit the medial deltoids directly. Like anterior deltoids are hit with chest exercises, rear deltoids with back exercises. But it seems that only military press, upright rows, laterals or variations of those exercises hit them...the only problem is that all those exercises pose dangers to the shoulder joint...the shoulders are very poorly designed.

 

[supersizeme]

I agree that the movement puts your joints in some potentially compromising positions. I injured my wrist using a lax grip(i.e. my thumbs were relaxed and not gripping the bar). I also used a bit too wide of a grip. I'll still always have pain in that wrist now, too, unless I stop lifting and let it fully heal. However, no other exercise like upright rows supersetted with db laterals hits my delts as hard.

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

Upright rows are only a problem if you raise your elbows above your wrists - it's the combination of internal rotation and abduction which causes the impingement.

only lift untill your upper arms are parallel to the floor which limits the degree of abduction to comfortable levels and you should be ok.

 

[vinylgroover]

The problem is that there aren't many movements that can hit the medial deltoids directly. Like anterior deltoids are hit with chest exercises, rear deltoids with back exercises. But it seems that only military press, upright rows, laterals or variations of those exercises hit them...the only problem is that all those exercises pose dangers to the shoulder joint...the shoulders are very poorly designed.

Presses in front of your head should not pose any dangers to your shoulders. It's one of the most natural movements you can do.

 

[Lord_Suston]

upright rows suck IMO, put too much stress on the RC and compromises the wrists... I just don't have the build for them....