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Education > FAQ's > Shoulder Pain Shoulder PainQ: I've noticed discomfort in my shoulders sometimes when climbing, or doing pullups, lat pulldowns, or military presses. Am I doing something incorrectly? A: If you happen to be someone who does pulling or pressing exercises BEHIND your head, and you suffer from shoulder pains, then I'd encourage you to start performing the exercises in FRONT of the neck. When performing lat pull downs, pullups, or presses behind the head, there is a much greater risk of straining the anterior capsule of the deltoid--in layman's terms, the front part of the shoulder muscle. If you have any history of shoulder problems, you'll likely find front-neck training to be much more comfortable--and just as (if not more so!) effective as pulling behind the neck. Can you still get the same training effect performing exercises in front of the neck? YES. To fully activate the latissimus dorsi (lats) in a pullup or pull down exercise, you actually WANT to be leaning back slightly (anywhere from 10-45 degrees) while squeezing the shoulder blades down and together as you pull. Many lat pull machines fit people--especially women--very poorly, forcing them to lean far forward in what might be referred to as "forward-chin-jutting posture." If you think about your own day-to-day activities, are there any that require that you lift up and behind the head? In most cases, you'll be lifting up and in front of you. Any sports that require lifting or pulling activity above the head and behind you? I can think of a few, such as perhaps tossing in a light soccer ball. If I have any clients who complain of pain in shoulders, I check to see if they are doing any of the above exercises, and if so, what their form looks like, and then recommend a different approach to keep them pain free. Finally, if you have some shoulder pain when climbing, you may want to add some rotator cuff strengthening exercises, look at how often you climb (you may be overtraining slightly, in which case some time off might help you recover), or have one of our conditioning coaches check you out for muscle imbalances. |
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