So, what is wrong with what the person is doing above? She’s smiling and exercising…all good, right? Uh, no! I’ll cut to the chase. That woman is looking at significant shoulder damage coming her way due to the movement she is performing.
Many people go the gym and try to isolate, or train, their shoulders. There is plenty of debate about isolation movements vs. more regional training, but we’ll leave that for another day. There are many machines the people use to work on their shoulders and there are plenty of exercises with dumbbells.
This discussion is about one particular exercise that rates high on my list of ‘Don’t Be a Meathead.’
Let’s first start with anatomy. The supraspinatus muscle is one of the 4 rotator cuff muscles and its function is shoulder abduction in the SCAPULAR plane along with a bit of external rotation. The problem with this muscle is that it travels under a bone that comes off the scapula, called the acromion. Continue Reading →
