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Rotator Cuff Strengthening Exercises
Rotator Cuff Strengthening Exercises
Do you feel as though your shoulders "give out" during your upper body workouts? Do you wonder if perhaps including some rotator cuff strengthening exercises might help? Below we discuss how to perform three rotator cuff exercises and two shoulder stretches that may help you see improvement in performance in the rest of your upper body workouts.
WHAT IS THE ROTATOR CUFF?
The rotator cuff is a group of four relatively small muscles (the Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis, or ?SITS? for an easy way to remember them all) that help keep the ball-and-socket joint intact. Rotator cuff muscles get strained from 1) sudden impact (a fall or high-velocity movement such as throwing when a person is not used to that particular activity), 2) overuse, particularly in sports such as swimming, baseball or tennis, 3) training with too much weight in the primary movements such as bench pressing or overhead pressing without proper recovery time, and 4) doing too much of certain types of movements without balancing them out with opposing movements (i.e. not enough pulling and too much pushing.)
Because the rotator cuff muscles are so small, when strengthening them, it is important not to train with too heavy a weight. Initially a 3 or 5-pound dumbbell may suffice for most women, and an 8 to 12 pound dumbbell for men. When performing rotator cuff exercises, keep the movement slow and controlled, and be sure to train in the pain-free range of motion. Keep your wrists neutral rather than flicking the wrist to add range. You can also use therabands or exercise tubing, although remember that in doing so, the end range of motion will be overloaded far more than the start, and in this case handheld weights (be it soupcans, 2-liter bottles or dumbbells) or cables are preferable to bands.
When in doubt before beginning any of these exercises, see a sports medicine doctor, or get a referral to a specialist like a physical therapist who can help assess whether what you need truly IS rotator cuff strengthening, or if there is another entirely different muscle group to target instead.
EXTERNAL ROTATOR EXERCISES
![](http://www.bodyresults.com/_iexer/7P1M1aExtRotKnee.JPG)
- External Rotator on Knee: To perform this exercise sit on a bench with foot propped on seat so that when you rest your elbow on the knee, the upper arm remains parallel to the floor. Start with your hand in the air, perpendicular to the floor, and slowly rotate your upper arm in an arc toward the midline of your body (keeping a right angle to the elbow) until your forearm is just above parallel to the floor. Exhale and arc the arm back up to vertical, repeat for 12-15 repetitions and then perform on the other arm, 1-3 sets each. If you anticipate that one arm is weaker than the other, complete the exercise with your weak arm first and only do the same number of reps on the strong arm as you can complete with good form on the first.
![](http://www.bodyresults.com/_iexer/7P1R1aPropExRot.JPG)
- Propped External Rotator: For this exercise, sit on a bench with a barbell behind you so that your upper arm is parallel to the floor. Rest your elbow on the barbell and just as for the Knee exercise above, slowly lower the dumbbell until the upper arm is parallel to the floor and focus on contracting the small muscles in the back of the shoulder to lift the weight back to vertical. Be careful not to use so heavy a load that the weight pulls your hand too far down! Exhale on the lift and complete 12-15 repetitions, 1-3 sets each on both arms.
![](http://www.bodyresults.com/_iexer/7P1R2aSideRC.JPG)
- Side-Lying External Rotator: The final strengthening exercise to try for the external rotators is to lie on your side (on the floor or on a wide bench) with a towel or sweatshirt propped underneath your elbow to help keep it away from your hip and allow you to keep your arm at a right angle. Keep the elbow in that 90 degree position and exhale as you slowly raise the hand up toward the ceiling, stopping just shy of vertical to keep constant tension on the rotators rather than shifting the effort to the larger deltoid muscles. Slowly lower the weight back down toward your abdomen and repeat. If you feel yourself shifting your body back or taking a rest briefly at the top of the movement, lower the weight until you have a weight you can complete for 12-15 repetitions under constant tension, 1-3 sets on each arm.
STRETCHING
As part of a balanced routine that includes fairly even numbers of sets of pulling and pushing exercises for the large muscles in the chest, shoulders and back, be sure to include some stretching following your strength and rehabilitation work. The following two stretches might be perfect ones to add to your routine. Hold each for 30 seconds, and again, be cautious of pushing too hard into the stretch ? the goal here should be to release tension in worked muscles, NOT cause any pain!
![](http://www.bodyresults.com/_iexer/23DoorJambChest.JPG)
- Door Jamb Chest Stretch: We recommend this stretch for climbers, computer programmers, bench press fanatics, or any other people who typically have forward-shoulder posture or sedentary sitting jobs. You need no equipment other than a door jamb, tree, or corner of a building. Extend your arm out from the torso at a right angle, and bend your elbow 90 degrees. Place your forearm against a wall (or do both at the same time, in a door jamb) and lean forward. You can even stagger your stance with one foot forward, if it feels more comfortable. Hold the stretch on each side for about 20-30 seconds. For optimal benefit, place this static stretch at the end of your workout before taking it to its limits.
![](http://www.bodyresults.com/_iexer/21HugTree.JPG)
- Hug a Tree Stretch: This stretch feels heavenly after rotator cuff work and stretches the lats, obliques, arms, lower back and shoulders. It is a good one for most climbers, desk workers, and any other people who carry a lot of stress in the upper neck and back. Find a sturdy vertical surface (pictured, a squat rack, but a tree or coat rack might also do nicely) and grasp both hands around it, with feet about a foot away. Allow yourself to bend at the hips, butt back, until arms are straight, and allow your head to relax between the elbows. If you are also tight in the hamstrings you might feel a good stretch in the back of the legs.
If any of the strength or stretching exercises cause further aggravation to your shoulders, 1) lower the weight, 2) limit the range of motion to whatever you can complete pain free, 3) try the movement without any weight to see if the movement itself is causing the problem, 4) have someone familiar with the exercise check your form, and 5) see your doctor if, after 2-3 weeks, it does not improve somewhat with ice, rest, anti-inflammatories, stretching and strengthening.
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Four Exercises to Strengthen the Muscles of Your Rotator Cuff
Remember that the exercises described on the next two pages, which help strengthen the muscles of your shoulder (especially the rotator cuff), should not cause you pain. If the exercise hurts, use a smaller weight and stop exercising when the pain begins.
Perform each exercise slowly: lift your arm to a slow count of three and lower your arm to a slow count of six.
Look at the pictures with each exercise so you can follow the right position. Warm up before adding weights: stretch your arms and shoulders and do pendulum exercises (bend from the waist, arms hanging down; keeping arm and shoulder muscles relaxed, move arms slowly back and forth).
Keep repeating each exercise until your arm is tired. Use a light enough weight that you don't get tired until you've done the exercise about 20 to 30 times. Increase the weight a little each week (but never so much that the weight causes pain): start with 2 ounces the first week, move up to 4 ounces the second week, 8 ounces the next week, and so on.
If you do all four exercises three to five times a week, your rotator cuff muscles will become stronger and you'll regain normal strength in your shoulder. Each time you finish doing all four exercises, put an ice pack on your shoulder for 20 minutes. It's best to use a plastic bag with ice cubes in it, or a bag of frozen peas, not gel packs.
Exercise 1.
Start by lying on your stomach on a table or a bed. Put your left arm out at shoulder level with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and your hand down. Keep your elbow bent and slowly raise your left hand. Stop when your hand is level with your shoulder. Lower the hand slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your right arm
Exercise 2.
Lie on your right side with a rolled-up towel under your right armpit. Stretch your right arm above your head. Keep your left arm at your side with your elbow bent to 90 degrees and the forearm resting against your chest, palm down. Roll your left shoulder out, raising the left forearm until it's level with your shoulder. (Hint: this is like the backhand swing in tennis.) Lower the arm slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your right arm.
Exercise 3.
Lie on your right side. Keep your left arm along the upper side of your body. Bend your right elbow to 90 degrees. Keep the right forearm resting on the table. Now roll your right shoulder in, raising your right forearm up to your chest. (Hint: this is like the forehand swing in tennis.) Lower the forearm slowly. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your other arm.
Exercise 4.
In a standing position, start with your right arm halfway between the front and the side of your body, thumb down. Raise your right arm until almost level (about a 45 degree angle). (Hint: this is like emptying a can.) Don't lift beyond the point of pain. Slowly lower your arm. Repeat the exercise until your arm is tired. Then repeat the whole exercise again with your other arm.
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Post Thanks / Like - 2 Thanks, 2 Likes, 0 Dislikes
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Amazing read bro I have a recent shoulder injury im trying to overcome and these are all awesome exercises and def are helping!!
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I perform 3 of them every day I train. I'll probably snag a 1.25kg plate and start doing them everyday.
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
DISCLAIMER: "BrotherIron" is a fictitious character with the sole purpose to entertain. Any information/advice given out, stated, or implied by "BrotherIron" is for entertainment purposes only & should not be considered the advocation of any illegal activity.
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Thanks guys! Hope this helps everyone out. I have a shoulder injury as well.
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I know this thread is super old but, I hurt my shoulder in my glory days in hs and go it looked at and they told me it would be fine with out surgery but! It's hurts when I barbell press or incline, and the thing is it doesn't hurt when I'm juicing ... Is it because my rotator cuff is stronger? And holding my shoulder more stable?
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You sound a lot like me. I have an old nagging shoulder injury too and il tell you doing rotator cuff work will definatly help. I work on my rotator cuff every day and it has really made a big deference.
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Great read PAiN.
I regularly use these in my training about once every 12 weeks for about 2 to 3 weeks.
Powerlifters really need these for strong benches and rack presses.
One of my staples.
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Great read brother.Somone just posting asking about rotator injury exercises and im going to copy and paste this for them.I have used these exercises and this desribes them perfectly.
Last edited by STEROID; 12-27-2011 at 04:01 AM.
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Good post I try to do these a few times a week!
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