One of the most common injuries I see is in the shoulder area. It makes sense that this would be one of the most common injuries because of how mobile the joint is and how unstable it is.
I don’t spend too much time talking about rehab and preventative exercises because they don’t do much for toning muscles or burning calories, but they do play a huge role in keeping you healthy and allowing you to work out at a high level!
What have you found to help your shoulders stay strong and avoid injury?
Wow, Dustin, I was SO HAPPY to have you tackle this issue!!! I have been in and out of physical therapy for well over a year because I injured my shoulders while taking, of ALL THINGS, an endurance/speed swimming class at the YMCA. I sure wish I had known that properly training and warming up those muscles leads to better-equipped joints to handle the exertion. My orthopedic surgeon sees these injuries all the time, as you can imagine. Thank you for bringing this topic to the forefront! I wish I would have been “smarter” regarding this very serious matter two years ago….! You have NO IDEA what a difference you make in so many people’s lives who really thrive on your ‘can do’ attitude!!
Make sure you get a doctors permission to exercise and if you have shoulder issues, get those resolved or leave them out of your exercise routine.
I lost 30 pounds all fat, doing this routine. As far as exercise I did 3 mornings of cardio for about 45 mins. alternating with 90 mins. of light weight lifting the other 3 days. Sunday off.
In order to lose weight I ate 5 to 6 small meals (300 to 500 calories each) and did juicing for 2 of those. I never eat the same caloric content for each day. I think calorie shifting fools your body into thinking its not on a diet. Start your first meal at 7am and the last one at 5pm. Only drink water after 5pm. Throw in a little morning aerobics to rev up the metabolism for the rest of the day.
One more thing, for motivation I took very revealing photos of myself in my underwear and posted these on the fridge, mirrors, car dash, etc. I also wrote my body fat measurement on these pictures. Take pictures once each month to see your progress, This works!! Also, journal your progress and adjust exercise and diet as necessary.
Excellent Dustin and right on! I have had surgery on both shoulders due to injuries from not warming up and training my shoulders properly before swimming. The exercises you demonstrated are exactly what I did for rehab. I also learned to use a lighter weight when performing these exercises.
Thanks again for addressing this!
Karen
Dustin, Will these same exercises improve definition in the upper arm? If so, same light weights or heavier? If not, what’s the secret to getting those “cut” super-toned arms? You know, I can smell tank top season in the air… Thanks!
Vanessa,
They will help, but front and lateral raises along with shoulder presses are the best. Then it just comes down to reducing body fat enough to let the muscles show and the cuts to become visible.
Dustin
I’m a fan of the rear deltoid raise – excellent for the rhomboids as well, which are typically weak!
Thank you for the disclaimer on not being a physical therapist and to get chronic injuries diagnosed and treated. As a Pilates Instructor I find strengthening external rotators extremely important in injury prevention but for shoulder rehabilitation low resistance is ideal.
The shoulder allows a great deal of mobility that needs to be counterbalanced with stability. Thank you again for the great information!