Fitness
Strength training tips for healthy shoulders
Shoulder injuries are common, particularly for people that are regularly lifting weights. Injuries vary in severity, but they often hamper fitness activities by limiting the type of exercises that can be done comfortably. This can include exercises such as: pull-ups; the bench press; inverted rows; and many others.
Good form and appropriate level of challenge
Using the correct technique for an exercise (often called ‘good form’) and working at the appropriate level of difficulty (e.g. weight) for your capabilities will help to reduce the risk of shoulder discomfort or injury.
Neutral grip
Further to good form and appropriate difficulty, an approach that can be adopted to reduce the likelihood of shoulder injury is using a neutral grip, instead of a pronated of supinated grip.
Neutral grip exercises are often more comfortable for people with existing shoulder issues that still want to perform exercises involving the shoulders.
Pull-up Bars
Neutral grip pull-up bars are now widely available. Many will offer multiple grip options (e.g. neutral, pronated and supinated). Some bars include angled grips that are less pronated (or supinated), but not completely neutral – effectively a hybrid grip option.
Our favourite power rack, the Assault Rack Pro from Iron Edge, comes standard with a multi-grip pull-up bar.
Hex Barbell
The hex barbell, sometimes called a trap bar, can be used for a range of exercises, including: shrugs; deadlifts; squats; and farmer’s walks (if using an open-sided hex bar).
We use and highly recommend the Chrome Trap Bar from Iron Edge. Use our exclusive discount code (IE-616) for 5% off Iron Edge fitness equipment.
If you’re going to use a hex bar for farmer’s walks, then I highly recommend using an open-sided hex bar, often called a ‘rickshaw bar’. This opens up a whole bunch of additional exercises with the trap bar. We recommend the Trap Bar 2.0 from Iron Edge pictured below.
In addition to being more comfortable for your shoulders, the hex bar can also reduce stress on the lower back when performing deadlifts.
Swiss Barbell
The swiss barbell, sometimes called a ‘football bar’ or ‘multi grip bar’, typically offers a number of neutral grip handles; allowing the user to choose an appropriate grip placement (e.g. narrow or wide). Many also include angled or ‘hybrid’ grip options, such as the Swiss Bar from Iron Edge (pictured below).
The swiss barbell is a terrific option for the bench press, which is an exercise that causes shoulder discomfort for some people.
Gymnastic Rings
Gymnastic rings are versatile, cheap and portable. You can do a whole range of exercises with rings, such as: pull-ups; chin-ups; dips; and inverted rows.
I like the rings that have a series of regularly spaced loops, as you can easily make adjustments to the height of the rings, by simply clipping into the different loops. We use the Power Rings from Iron Edge. You can grab a set for 5% off using our exclusive discount code: IE-616.