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The shoulder is one of the most common problem areas for pretty much everyone – people who workout, people who don’t workout, sport athletes, tactical athletes, general population, etc. Injuries can range from minor pulls to major strains or sprains. Impingement, bursitis, cartilage tears, rotator cuff tears… the list goes on.

Let me preface this article by saying that I am NOT a doctor, and that this is NOT medical advice. If you’re having a shoulder issue, whether minor or severe, the only way to truly know 100% what is going on is to see an orthopedic doctor and likely obtain an x-ray, MRI, or both.

Here’s what I can tell you… for a 7-8 year period (I’m a stubborn and slow learner), my shoulders were a mess. I would hurt my left shoulder… rest it, let it heal, gradually reintegrate exercises, etc. until it felt pretty good on its own… then, sometime within the next year, I’d hurt my right shoulder… rest it, let it heal, gradually reintegrate exercises, etc. until it felt pretty good on its own… then, sometime within the next year, I’d hurt my left shoulder… and on and on. It literally felt like one shoulder or the other would be hurt in any given year. Luckily, I’ve always been able to avoid a major injury that might require surgery; but it was always frustrating, to say the least.

Finally, I decided enough was enough. I wanted a “shoulder routine” that I could do for rehab, and eventually PREHAB, that would end the cycle. It had to be…

• simple – it couldn’t be crazy, complex, or require specialized equipment, 
• efficient – it needed to be doable fairly “quickly,” as an add on to my current workouts,
• progressive – it should progress from rehab to prehab as my shoulders got healthier/stronger.

After a lot of thought, I decided my Shoulder Routine would need to focus on 3 elements of shoulder health…

• Flexibility/Mobility
• Stability
• Strength

In the end, I came up with a routine that I’ve done consistently for the last few years, and my shoulders have never felt better. I won’t bore you with WHY the various elements are part of the routine. I’m told I ramble when I talk about things like this, and I’m sure you’re already bored enough and ready to get on with it. But if you’d ever like to know WHY something is included (or excluded), then you can always hit me up for a chat at josh@fivealarmfitness.com.

Now, onto the routine…

I break up the shoulder work into two areas… General Work and Specific Work. General Work consists of things I do EVERY SINGLE TIME I’M IN THE GYM. Specific Work is more actual exercises that get added into my workout 2-3x/WEEK.

GENERAL WORK: AGAIN, EVERY TIME I’M IN THE GYM. 4-5 DAYS/WEEK.

• 100 – 200 Band Pull Aparts or Band Face Pulls. I usually work these into a Warm Up. For BPA, I use a light band and do them pretty fast, usually doing 2-4 sets of 50. BFP are a bit harder, and I use a light band and usually hit 2-4 sets of 25. Sometimes I’ll even mix them up. Regardless, I try to get 100+ reps every single day.
  
• Accumulate 1:00 – 2:00 of Overgrip Bent Lean. To hit a solid OBL, start by placing your hands palms down on something (a racked barbell, a box, a countertop, a GHD, etc.). Keeping your elbows locked, hinge at the hip and bend over, pushing your head down in between your arms. Depending on your flexibility/mobility, you might need to find a surface that allows you to put your hands/arms wider. No worries. I’ll do OBL for :30 at a time, and usually hit 2-4 sets, either in my Warm Up or mixed in with other exercises instead of just standing around resting.

SPECIFIC WORK: STRUCTURED EXERCISES. 2-3 DAYS/WEEK.

For the Specific Work, I try to integrate it into that day’s strength work. Usually I’ll pick one of the exercises below, but I might hit 2 if it’s an actual “shoulder day.”

• Kettlebell/Dumbbell Arm Bar – Honestly, this is the bread and butter of the routine. You can do these for reps (usually around 5/side per set), but I usually do 4 sets of :15 – :30/side and just hold it the entire time. The key is to start LIGHT and don’t rush progress. Here’s a video of Jeff Martone teaching the KB Arm Bar.
  
  
  • When I first started, it was my left shoulder that was in pain. I would hold a 5# DB and go for 4 x :15/side, because it was all I could handle without pain (ALWAYS DO EVERYTHING PAIN FREE. IF IT HURTS, STOP.) My plan was to do the routine 10 times/month. Over the first month, I was able to go from 4 x :15/side to 4 x :30/side with that 5# DB. The next month, I went up to a 10# DB, but went back down to 4 x :15/side. Again, pain free. And again, over those 10 sessions I was able to get up to 4 x :30/side at 10#. I repeated this month 3 with a 15# DB. Month 4 with a 20# DB. And so on. Eventually I jumped to kettlebells. Even though the jumps in weight got a bit wonky with the KBs, I was able to keep progressing this way for an entire year. At the end of that year, I was doing 4 x :30/side with a 70# KB.
    
  • Accumulating 2:00/side in a KB Arm Bar with a 70# KB is pretty solid. I’ve held that standard for over 2 years with no re-injured shoulders. I’ve also begun playing a little with variations of KB Windmills. Those are fun, and we’ll see how it goes.
    
    
• Strict Presses – Specifically, KB/DB Strict Presses (overhead). 90% of the time, whenever any pressing overhead motion comes up, in a strength or workout portion, I modify it to some kind of KB/DB Press. Even then, about 90% of the time I’ll do them Strict, and maybe 10% of the time I’ll do something like a Push Press. Even less frequently, I’ll do a variation of BB Press.
  
  
  • The range of motion available from doing KB/DB work is important. Over the same year I mentioned above, I focused intently on hitting KB/DB Strict Presses a couple times per week (and ALWAYS WITH A FOCUS ON FORM). Lots of light weight/volume work, with occasional heavier loads, and within the year I was able to Single Arm Strict Press a 70# KB for a double on either arm, and pain free.
    
  • As a side note, this same rule applies to when I Bench Press. When I Bench, I’ll use DBs the majority of the time, but I’ll also often modify any horizontal pressing to Push Ups or Dips (see below).

• Loaded Carries – I don’t do these nearly enough, but I’m looking at integrating them a lot more. If you can maintain good posture, Single Arm Farmer Carries, SA Front Rack Carries, and SA Overhead Carries are money in the bank for shoulder stability. Just start light enough to be able to maintain good posture. Go light and long, or heavy and short. And WALK, DON’T RUN.

• Push Ups / Parallel Bar Dips / Strict Pull Ups – These I do a lot of, and there’s a million ways to program them. For my shoulder health though, regardless if they’re light and high rep or heavy and low rep, I started doing them all to a (1111) tempo. This can be a real ego check. So lose the ego, and reap the long-term strength and joint stability benefits.

And that’s it. Seems like a lot with it all typed out like that, but it’s really not. Things like Carries, Push Ups, Pull Ups, Dips, and even Strict Presses are already part of a solid functional program, so that’s not really adding anything.

The Band Pull Aparts, Overgrip Bent Lean, and KB/DB Arm Bars are a bit extra, but I do the BPA and the OBL daily as part of my Warm Up. Arm Bars I usually do at the end, after my workout. I’ll just constantly alternate sides until all 4 sets/side are done, and I’m done in under 5:00. Often though, they can be integrated into a strength set, working them with another exercise instead of just waiting to do my next main set.

I hope that helps. Or clarifies some things. Or sparks some thoughts of your own. If you have any questions, or you’d like to talk more about rehab/prehab or anything else health/fitness related, you can reach me at josh@fivealarmfitness.com!