Shoulder hurt? 5 steps to get a grip.
advice, shoulder pain, farmers walk, bench press
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Shoulder hurts? Get a grip.
Have you been feeling discomfort in your shoulder.
Did you hurt your shoulder doing overheads or bench press?
So many of us are trying to work around, over, under or through
some sort of ache or pain so it does not limit our workout efforts.
By no means do I encourage anyone to "grin and bear it", continuing to
push throught the pain as to not miss a shoulder workout.
If you have had persistent or consistent pain in any joint or muscle you
should have it evaluated by a medical professional.
Grip strength is a vital component to any well designed program and it is
not always so obvious how easy it is to implement it into your plan.
In fact we now know that when you grip a bar or dumbbell TIGHTLY prior to beginning an
exercise it sends a message to your rotator cuff (amongst other areas) to contract. It is an involuntary reaction. When this happens your rotator cuff takes on the roll of stabilizing and preparing the shoulder joint
to take action.
Some prominent and progressive physical therapist are actually using grip strength to rehab
rotator cuff injuries instead of the old protocols of internal and external rotation, etc.
The thought sometimes is when trying to isolate certain muscle groups ie., anterior and middle delts
with a dumbbell overhead press, we grip lightly as to take the tension out of other muscles.
However this is the opposite of what we want to do.
I guarantee if you grip harder you will lift more and without discomfort. I had a chronic left shoulder
impingement issue and after only a few weeks of gripping hard it got much better and now I am at the point
that it simply is not an issue.
Here are some easy ways to increase grip strength and improve shoulder health.
1. Grip tightly even ... read entire entry
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on 8/20/2008
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12.6
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Dumbbell Bench Press done right
bench press, workout, exercise, fitness
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IF dumbbell bench press is a staple in you routine or even if you just throw it in there to mix things up every now and then - this information will help.
When doing a dumbbell bench press I, like most of us, was instructed to bring the dumbbells together on the top of the movement while squeezing your chest muscles.
Old school and ineffective.
You may feel a contraction in your pecs by doing this but I will argue you can get the same result by flexing your pecs as in a most muscular or crab body building pose. You could get the same result holding your hands out in front of you, palms together and arms slightly bent, and pressing your hands together.
When bringing the the dummbells that close to the mid line of your body gravity is not working against the muscles of the chest as much, similar to getting that big squeeze on the top of a biceps curl.
Without the big squeeze you would lose most of the contraction in your chest until you begin to lower the weight again.
What to do:
Keep the dumbbells moving straight up and down or perpendicular to the floor. Keep the width of the dumbbells on the bottom of the movement the same as you usually do. On the way up push straight up. The dumbbells should not move towards the midline of your body and end up the same distance apart as they were on the bottom of the movement.
Studies have shown that this will allow you to maintain a MAXIMAL CONTRACTION for a longer period of time compared to moving the dumbbells together.
Another way to put it...while doing dumbbell bench press act as if you have a straight bar in your hands.
Do it right. Get strong. Win.
Dave
www.homeofficeworkouts.com
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on 7/16/2008
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9.7
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