When it comes to exercising it’s real easy to mess things up. Especially when you’re just starting out. I learned about some big mistakes I was making with my shoulders. You don’t want to make them too.
I mentioned in an earlier post a huge mistake you can make when it comes to working out is technique. There is nothing that will kill your results faster than doing exercises the wrong way.
Best case scenario, nothing happens with your body and you wonder what you’ve been doing with your life. Worst case, you can seriously injure yourself.
These big mistakes that I learned about a little while back about shoulders can do both. You don’t want to be making these mistakes because they affect so many other movements.
If you’re messing up with your shoulders, you definitely won’t be getting the results that you want.
It’s bad if you injure your shoulders because you’re doing things incorrectly. That will probably disrupt most of your upper body workout plus who knows what else.
Your shoulders play such an important part of your workout routine, might as well get the most out of them. Especially since it’s hard to use your arms without them.
So here are some big mistakes I was making with my shoulders as they relate to some really great exercises.
How Shoulders Cause Big Mistakes With Push Ups
The push up is an amazing exercise. It takes care of so many parts of your body including your chest, back and core. It also happens to be a great bodyweight exercise.
It’s great as a part of an accomplished workout routine and also really good for beginners. The push up was one of the first exercises I did regularly when I was just starting out. I still use it today.
Not too long ago I learned a big mistake I was making with the push up related to my shoulders. Apparently it’s pretty common.
I had no idea. I was shown how to do it a long time ago without much attention given to technique.
Unfortunately, that’s how a lot of people learn these exercises when they are just starting out.
I would probably still be making the same mistake if I didn’t have a trainer catch me doing push ups and offer advice to make the correction.
Always a good idea to work with a trainer once in a while. Make sure you’re moving in the right direction.
So when you’re in the push up position and you’re holding your body up with your arms at full extension, you’ll probably notice a couple things.
In order to keep your weight off the ground and to maintain the position with your arms at full extension, your shoulders will naturally pull up and out.
You’re probably not even thinking about it. I know I wasn’t.
What to do instead
So instead, what you want to do in this position is pull your shoulders back and down. When you do that, you’ll realize how far up and out they were.
It’ll feel a little strange at first. But after you do it you should feel a difference in a couple of places.
First you’ll notice your chest playing a more prominent role and less of an assist from your shoulders.
This means less stress on your shoulders and greater focus on your chest. That’s why you’re probably doing the push up in the first place.
The next thing you’ll probably notice is your shoulder blades squeeze together. This is your shoulders working together with your upper back.
This creates a solid foundation that you will use to push up from when moving from the lower position.
Again, this helps focus the energy you’re using on your chest and reduces the likelihood of strain on your shoulders.
Correcting this shoulder issue for me has made a huge difference with my push up routines. It’s improved my strength and shoulder mobility.
How Shoulders Cause Big Mistakes With The Bent Over Dumbbell Row
For this example I want to demonstrate how a shoulder mistake can affect your back.
In this case, not only will it affect your results but you could hurt yourself. This is definitely not something you want to do.
This was a mistake I would make as I became more fatigued during the exercise but also when I moved up to heavier weight.
Supposedly it is also quite common and you don’t want to do it.
This is probably another example of a mistake that you won’t even be aware of because you get so caught up in completing the exercise, you forget to be mindful of your technique.
This was definitely something I would run into.
Is This Even A Popular Exercise?
The bent over dumbbell row is probably one of the more popular exercises for your middle back and when done properly is great for working out your lats.
For this example, I’m going to focus on the single arm row because this is where the shoulder mistake tends to occur.
Most people perform this exercise with a bench. If you’re going to row with your left arm, you put your right knee and right hand on the bench for support. That gets you into the bent over row position.
Then you put the dumbbell on the floor and while standing on your left foot, you reach down with your left arm and while staying in the bent over position, you pull up. That is the basic bent over row.
The big common mistake that I was making is that I was dropping my shoulder down too low.
First off, when performing the bent over row, you don’t have to touch the weight to the floor each time you bring it down. You just want to almost straighten out your arm but keep a slight bend at the elbow. The weight will remain off the ground for the entire set.
By allowing the weight to pull your shoulder down too far, you set off a chain reaction with the rest of your body. This can ruin the exercise for you and possibly cause an injury.
Wrong Exercise Effects And What To Do Instead
The weight pulling your shoulder down too far may be caused by the fact that you are using too much weight. Or, it may be that you are losing focus with your technique.
Once the weight starts pulling you further down, to gain leverage, you’ll probably allow your knee to creep forward on the bench.
Once your knee starts creeping forward, your mid back will start to arch upwards, shortening up your spine.
At this point, you’re going to be pulling more with your shoulder and muscles around your neck and putting strain on your back.
Obviously, if you continue the exercise in this position you’re not working out the muscle group you want (your lats) and you’re risking injury.
To correct it, pull your shoulder up and back. This will allow you to keep your back straight and flat with a nice long line with your spine.
Additionally, you can keep your knee back on the bench so you won’t be pushing forward from your lower back that could cause an upward curve in your spine.
With your shoulder back you should also feel your chest naturally press out. This will also help you focus the movements on your lats without undue strain on your back by allowing you to hold really good posture throughout the movement.
By maintaining proper shoulder position and concurrently solid posture with your back, you’ll be able to get the most out of this exercise and greatly reduce the risk of injury.
Maintain this proper shoulder position and your back will be feeling stronger and healthier in no time.
To see a good example of the bent over row, you can check out ScottHermanFitness.com here.
Big Mistakes With Dumbbell Shoulder Press
No list of shoulder mistakes would be complete without looking at an exercise that actually focuses on the shoulders.
This is a big mistake that I was making for a long time. Then a coach that I met suggested I change things up.
This example is more about how the choice of exercise in particular causes the shoulders to get in the way of progress.
There are lots of variations of shoulder press out there to attack your deltoid muscles (that’s your shoulders), from many different angles.
One of the most popular you will see, especially at a gym, is the seated dumbbell press.
This is where you sit down on a bench but more often a seat with a high back for support, holding a dumbbell in each hand and then press straight up over your head.
I used to do these all the time.
And I know there will be people who read this who like it and will continue to do it. If you like the benefits you’re getting from it, by all means, keep at it.
My suggestion, and that’s all it is, is you stop doing it.
Sure it might be getting you some results. But as somebody in my family likes to say to me, you can be so much more. We can discuss family another day.
Wrong Exercise Effects And What To Do Instead
Here’s the thing. When you’re doing the press in the seat with the high back, you will have a tendency to press back into the seat to help with the movement.
Pressing back into the seat actually inhibits your range of motion with your shoulder blades. That means you’re not completing the exercise or getting the most out of it.
Additionally, while in the seated position, you’re losing out on being able to generate the energy to complete the move. This obviously applies to the seated press without the high back as well.
There is a simple way to correct this mistake and still enjoy the exercise.
Just stand up.
By doing the movement standing up you will free up your shoulders to perform the exercise with a full range of motion ensuring that you are not short changing yourself.
Additionally, from a standing position, with a slight bend in your knees, you can utilize generating energy from your feet, straight up your body through to your shoulders.
This will also help with posture and ensure that when it comes time for progressive overload, you can use your whole body safely to get the weight into the proper position and execute to get the most out of the exercise.
By freeing yourself up from the seated position, you will be able to fully utilize your shoulders, core and improve your strength training.
You can see David Jack from 30 Second Fitness execute the standing dumbbell shoulder press here.
I think you will also find it to be a safer and more comfortable way to execute the press.
The Wrap Up
So there you have it.
These are the mistakes I learned I was making in regards to how I was using my shoulders in a variety of movements. I discovered they are common exercises done wrong.
They are definitely some of the most popular exercises for your back, chest and shoulder. The fixes are straightforward enough so that any level fitness buff can improve.
Learning how to do them correctly and not making mistakes made a huge difference in my fitness journey. Hope this was helpful for you too.
