Shoulder press hack

[Family_guy]

...its not really a hack. Its actually the proper way of performing any overhead shoulder movements. I came across this post on my instagram feed and Ive decided to bless you all with it. For me it was a total game changer, I guess Ive been doing my overhead presses wrong this whole time... some of you might find the same...

Movement compensation arise as a result of limited or excessive motion coming form joints either above or below. When it comes to the shoulder joint there are a few things to consider 1) the scapula should be able to upwardly rotate on the thoracic spine 2) the thoracic spine should be mobile enough to allow for smooth gliding of the shoulder blade 3) the humerus should be able to move within the glenohumeral fossa 180 degrees.

Our jobs and daily habits make overhead motions increasingly difficult because we spend too much time in positions that limit this motion and not enough time working on improving it. As a result, when working with a barbell, KB's or dumbbells the most common compensations arise from the ribs, lumbar spine and pelvis. The ribs flare, the lumbar spine becomes hyperlordotic (exaggerated lumbar curve) and the pelvis anteriorly tilts to give you the illusion that you can bring your arm overhead when in reality the range of motion is actually limited and coming from the wrong places.


I did chest and shoulders yesterday. I made sure not to compensate using my ribs, lumbar or pelvis and I can say Ive never felt my shoulders this sore before

This sounds interesting but I have no idea what all that actually means in practice. Could you explain a little more what your doing differently now?

[JohnnyV85]

This sounds interesting but I have no idea what all that actually means in practice. Could you explain a little more what your doing differently now?

Basically saying to have better control of the weight you're lifting and make sure you're lifting it with the right muscles. Pay attention next time you do shoulder presses. Chances are that as you're lifting the weight overhead you're also flaring your ribs while extending your spine and tilting your pelvis. Those 3 things I just mentioned are compensations to help get the weight overhead, but they're wasted motions. The objective is to use your shoulder muscles (delts), not your back. What I did differently is made sure that the only movement is happening at the actual shoulder joint, my torso remains fixed.