In sports training, the shoulder press has always been an indispensable training action! It is the core movement for developing our shoulder strength!
But the shoulder press is one of the most error-prone movements! Many people experience shoulder discomfort when performing shoulder presses!
Why is there a risk of injury during shoulder press training? The following three reasons:
Insufficient rotator cuff muscle strength, insufficient thoracic spine mobility, and insufficient upward rotation of the scapula.
However, there are two types of shoulder press, standing and seated.
But many people want to increase weight training! I will choose to practice "sitting"! But it comes at a price!
Because sitting against the back of the chair (as shown in Figure 1) will limit the normal scapulohumeral rhythm (SCAPULOHUMERAL RHYTHM).
In order to safely lift overhead, when the shoulder is flexed, the upper/lower trapezius/serratus anterior muscles must contract to allow the scapula to rotate upward. If there is not enough upward rotation, you will have shoulder pinch syndrome.
When standing, the shoulder blades can move freely; but when sitting, especially when using a regular chair back, the body will press against the back of the chair, which will limit the movement of the shoulder blades.
In order to solve this problem, some gyms will have special chair backs that are narrower. When the body leans up, the thoracic vertebrae will only be pressed against the chair back, and the shoulder blades on both sides can move. However, there are still other risks.
In the sitting position, it is difficult to have the full range of anglesShoulder flexion and thoracic extension.
No matter what width of chair back you use, in order to stabilize your body, you will push against the chair back, which will cause the original pushing direction to change from vertical upward to diagonally upward. At this point, it will be more difficult to reach the end angle of shoulder flexion, and then there will be a compensatory tilt of the body forward as the end angle is approached.
If you want full range of shoulder flexion, the solution is to sit without leaning on the back of the chair (Figure 2).
This has several benefits, full range of shoulder flexion, the scapula can be rotated upward, the thoracic spine can be straightened, and the front core must be contracted to stabilize the body rather than relying on the back of the chair.
If you are someone who suffers pain from trunk extension, compared with standing shoulder press, sitting without leaning on the back of the chair is a very suitable method for you. Sitting can reduce the straightening angle of the lumbar spine, so that you will not Back pain.
Finally, no matter what, if you can meet the requirements I mentioned earlier, it is best to do shoulder press while standing
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