pelly789
03-26-2006, 08:36 PM
i was reading up about how to stregthen my rotator cuff after i tore my right shoulder apart playing highschool football a few years ago and i came across this article on bodybuilding.com its a great read and maybe something everyone that lifts weights should be doing....i hope you guys enjoy this article :
Common Neglected Muscles
Can't get any bigger or stronger? You may be neglecting some important exercises.
This article will be a series of articles explaining the most common muscles that we often neglect. In our strive to be the biggest and best, we often fail to look at the little things that will help us get even bigger and better. I know a lot of articles are not written about this, so therefore most guys are in the dark. Most of the common questions of new trainees are, "How do I work the inner part of my chest?"" How do I get my chest bigger?" " How do I get to press more weight?" Why? Because they were never taught anything else. Have you ever reached an area in your benching that you seemed to stick at? Or your failue point was too quick? Most of the time it is because of these overlooked areas. How many guys actually train their stabilizer muscles on purpose? How many trainees actually know that this is a good thing to do? I would guess that very few if any, realize this. Most trainees are more concerned with" getting big" instead of getting functional. There are some problems associated with only "getting big". Let's take a look at one of the most commonly overlooked areas, The Rotator Cuff.
The rotator cuff (or Infraspinatus), is basically involved in a major way when it comes to benching. Have you ever noticed your shoulder area seems to hurt at times before you come to failure? Most of the time this is due to a weak rotator. This could also be said for a lot of other exercises too. This is due to the fact that the rotator really works hard during a lot of different movements you make. Now the rotator cuff is a part of the shoulder. It is a group of tendons that attach together and surround the top, the rear and the front of the shoulder. It actually surrounds it like a cuff on a shirt sleeve will surround your wrist. These tendons are individually connected to short muscles that originate from the scapula (shoulder blades). When these muscles contract they pull on the rotator cuff tendon, causing the shoulder to rotate. This pull causes the shoulder to rotate upward, inward or downward, this is why it's called the rotator cuff.
While doing a bench you may experience some rotator or shoulder pain, during part of the execution. This could be due to excessive stretching or weak muscles in this area. Some trainees will complain of massive pain for the next week or more, this could be due to an impingement. There are a few reasons for this impingement, one that could be a normal problem overlooked. Due to the narrow space here, some trainees may have the tendon and the adherent lubricating tissue (bursa), pinched when the arm is raised in a certain position. Usually forward movement is the main cause of this. Sounds a little like a bench press. So as you can see not working this area could dramatically decrease the bench and may cause some problems in this area. Now as the trainee continues to use this area, (after the soreness has started), which would be common due to working other body parts. The tendons become inflamed and sore, but the trainee still works them, not realizing the possible problems he is causing.
So why is this important to me? Well let's look at a possibilty. When the rotator tendons are inflamed as well as the surrounding tissue, the tendon could possibly start to break down and cause more damage at this area. It could actually all together fail and break away from it's attachements. In younger guys who do weight training, this is more common than you would guess to think. Due to the repetitive throwing and benching, this has a good possiblity of happening. The constant stretching and lifting of this area could very well constitute a tear. Most of the time this would be due to a joint imbalance. But most often is caused by a weakness in the muscle itself.
source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian1.htm
hope this may help some of those who suffer from chronic shoulder pain like i usually do
Common Neglected Muscles
Can't get any bigger or stronger? You may be neglecting some important exercises.
This article will be a series of articles explaining the most common muscles that we often neglect. In our strive to be the biggest and best, we often fail to look at the little things that will help us get even bigger and better. I know a lot of articles are not written about this, so therefore most guys are in the dark. Most of the common questions of new trainees are, "How do I work the inner part of my chest?"" How do I get my chest bigger?" " How do I get to press more weight?" Why? Because they were never taught anything else. Have you ever reached an area in your benching that you seemed to stick at? Or your failue point was too quick? Most of the time it is because of these overlooked areas. How many guys actually train their stabilizer muscles on purpose? How many trainees actually know that this is a good thing to do? I would guess that very few if any, realize this. Most trainees are more concerned with" getting big" instead of getting functional. There are some problems associated with only "getting big". Let's take a look at one of the most commonly overlooked areas, The Rotator Cuff.
The rotator cuff (or Infraspinatus), is basically involved in a major way when it comes to benching. Have you ever noticed your shoulder area seems to hurt at times before you come to failure? Most of the time this is due to a weak rotator. This could also be said for a lot of other exercises too. This is due to the fact that the rotator really works hard during a lot of different movements you make. Now the rotator cuff is a part of the shoulder. It is a group of tendons that attach together and surround the top, the rear and the front of the shoulder. It actually surrounds it like a cuff on a shirt sleeve will surround your wrist. These tendons are individually connected to short muscles that originate from the scapula (shoulder blades). When these muscles contract they pull on the rotator cuff tendon, causing the shoulder to rotate. This pull causes the shoulder to rotate upward, inward or downward, this is why it's called the rotator cuff.
While doing a bench you may experience some rotator or shoulder pain, during part of the execution. This could be due to excessive stretching or weak muscles in this area. Some trainees will complain of massive pain for the next week or more, this could be due to an impingement. There are a few reasons for this impingement, one that could be a normal problem overlooked. Due to the narrow space here, some trainees may have the tendon and the adherent lubricating tissue (bursa), pinched when the arm is raised in a certain position. Usually forward movement is the main cause of this. Sounds a little like a bench press. So as you can see not working this area could dramatically decrease the bench and may cause some problems in this area. Now as the trainee continues to use this area, (after the soreness has started), which would be common due to working other body parts. The tendons become inflamed and sore, but the trainee still works them, not realizing the possible problems he is causing.
So why is this important to me? Well let's look at a possibilty. When the rotator tendons are inflamed as well as the surrounding tissue, the tendon could possibly start to break down and cause more damage at this area. It could actually all together fail and break away from it's attachements. In younger guys who do weight training, this is more common than you would guess to think. Due to the repetitive throwing and benching, this has a good possiblity of happening. The constant stretching and lifting of this area could very well constitute a tear. Most of the time this would be due to a joint imbalance. But most often is caused by a weakness in the muscle itself.
source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian1.htm
hope this may help some of those who suffer from chronic shoulder pain like i usually do