| One of the most often injured areas in bodybuilders is | | | | dumbbell or plate in each hand. Raise the dumbbells off |
| the rotator cuff. This is primarily due to a high volume | | | | the floor by bending your elbows to 90 degrees and |
| of pressing (bench press, incline press, overhead press, | | | | having your upper arm at 90 degrees to your body. |
| etc.) and a low volume of work for the antagonistic | | | | This is your starting position. From this position you are |
| muscles of the upper back. The best fix for this is | | | | going to keep your elbows in the same position and |
| obviously to begin to balance the training of your upper | | | | rotate at the shoulder until the dumbbells are out to the |
| body. For every set of pressing you should do a set | | | | side of your head. Then return to the starting position |
| of rowing to balance the muscles of the shoulder | | | | and repeat. |
| girdle. | | | | 2. Side-lying 0/90 Rotations |
| This strategy not only prevents injuries, but also | | | | Start lying on your left side with a dumbbell or plate in |
| prevents the dreaded "caveman posture" (rounded | | | | your right hand. Put your elbow on your hip with a 90 |
| upper back). Proper posture is not only an issue of | | | | degree bend in your elbow. Your forearm should be |
| appearance though, it also improves your performance | | | | lying across your stomach. This is the start position. |
| since the joints are stabilized and in correct alignment. | | | | From this position rotate from the shoulder while |
| Balancing pressing with rows is a great start, but if you | | | | keeping the elbow at your hip. Rotate as far as your |
| have been training in an unbalanced manner for awhile | | | | flexibility will allow and then return to the starting |
| then you may also need to do some concentrated | | | | position. |
| work for the rotator cuffs. Please notice that this is to | | | | These two direct rotator cuff movements are a great |
| be done in addition to a balanced training program. | | | | addition to an already sound muscle gaining program. |
| There is nothing I hate more than seeing some guy do | | | | There are many more rotator cuff exercises, but the |
| set after set of heavy bench presses and then do a | | | | basics will serve you well for while. Don't be surprised |
| few sets of a rotator cuff exercise with 5 pounds in | | | | if you cannot use more than 2 or 3 pounds on these |
| an effort to prevent injury. | | | | movements to begin with. If you have been ignoring |
| Always remember that proper program design is your | | | | your rotator cuffs and upper back for awhile then they |
| first line of defense against injuries! If you don't know | | | | are bound to be weak. Give it some time and you will |
| how to properly design a training program (hint: there is | | | | begin to see progress. |
| more to it than just balancing rows and presses) then | | | | If you stick to a well-designed training program you will |
| find someone who does. Your muscle gains will be | | | | prevent injuries and gain muscle mass. Always keep in |
| faster and your injuries will be fewer. | | | | mind that a great training program comes before |
| With that said, let's look at two simple rotator cuff | | | | everything else. If your workout program is poorly |
| exercises you can use: | | | | designed then don't ever expect to see consistent |
| 1. Prone 90/90 Rotations | | | | muscle gains no matter how hard you work in the |
| Start lying face down on a bench. Grab a light | | | | gym or what supplements you take. |