Shoulder injuries and limitations are among the most common in fitness and bodybuilding. In an August 11 YouTube video, Jeff Cavaliere broke down seven exercises worth fixing to improve shoulder health.
With over 14.3 million YouTube subscribers, Cavaliere continues to offer fans science-based workouts and technique breakdowns. He’s built a successful career off helping individuals get in shape, from losing body fat to building muscle. His experience has led him to unpack several exercises that could leave your shoulders feeling vulnerable if not performed properly.
Jeff Cavaliere’s 7 Exercises & How to Fix Them for Tougher Shoulders
Find the exercises from the video below:
- Pull-Up
- Bench Press
- Upright Row
- Squat
- Dip
- Bench Dip
- Overhead Press
Pull-Up
On the pull-up, Cavaliere recommended creating extra distance between your shoulder and ear for a more stable position.
“Before you even do a single rep, you have to create extra distance between your shoulder and your ear. If you think about that distance, and maximize it by pulling down, you’ll already put yourself in a much more stable position so you won’t have that traction stress.”
Bench Press
His tip on the bench press was simple: avoid letting your elbows flare out during repetitions.
“If you flare your elbows out on a bench press, what happens is you get more internal rotation at the bottom. That actually hurts just to demonstrate that for you here.”
“The bar starts to drift forward. You get internal rotation of the shoulder, more extension, and more aggravation of that biceps tendon. You have to make sure your elbows are more tucked.”
Upright Row
For safer upright rows, Cavaliere said to externally rotate the shoulders to create more room for the rotator cuff.
“If I can keep the elbow down and pull up to the same height, but have this position here, now I’m externally rotating the shoulder. External rotation at the shoulder joint creates more room, more space for those rotator cuff tendons.”
Squat
For many, low bar squats can irritate the rotator cuff. As a solution, Cavaliere said to find which variation works best for your body:
“You probably heard low bar squats are great; however, the position that you need to get in for a low bar squat is pretty troublesome for a rotator cuff.”
“You shouldn’t stop squatting; you just need to figure out that right way to do it for you and your body.”
Dip
Again, he emphasized creating distance between the shoulder and ear to keep the shoulders in a safer position during dips.
“We talked about dropping those shoulders down when we did the pull-up; you want to do the same thing. Make the distance between your ears and shoulders greater by pulling your shoulders down.”
Bench Dip
When using a bench for dips, Cavaliere said to externally rotate your shoulders and hands to keep the shoulder in a less vulnerable position.
“We have the same risk that happens in the dip or the regular chest dip because at the bottom of the exercise, there’s a huge tendency for those shoulders to round forward.”
“We can get our arms even further out and, most importantly, externally rotate those shoulders by placing the hands much more externally rotated. That means pointing our fingers out to the side or even behind us a little bit.”
Overhead Press
Lastly, he urged lifters to keep their arms in front of their body during overhead presses:
“You’ve got to get your arm a little bit in front of your body to more naturally mimic or sit in and move in the plane it’s supposed to. You can do that by just narrowing your hand positioning here.”
“It brings the elbows from out to the side to more in front of the body,” shared Jeff Cavaliere.
Cavaliere isn’t just focused on building muscle and strength. He also has methods for restoring movement patterns and flexibility. He recently outlined seven primitive movement patterns that can improve long-term function and quality of life.
Having suffered from a labrum tear himself, Cavaliere’s insight is backed by experience. He believes these seven exercises have merit but should be performed carefully to preserve shoulder health.
RELATED: Jeff Cavaliere Shares 13 Rules to Help You Maintain Abs Year-Round
