Your rotator cuff muscles are the foundation of your shoulders. These small muscles are classified as your synergists or stabilizers that come into play whenever your work any major upper body muscle group. So it goes without saying that these are just as important when constructing a training program. Simply put, if you want to get stronger in the bench press, do rotator cuff work. If you want to be able to perform a chin-up, do rotator cuff work as well. They may not be able to give you the kind of satisfaction or muscle pump you need, but long term they will definitely guarantee you healthy shoulders.
Another shocking revelation for you huh? Well, there is a scientific basis for this tip of mine so let me explain.
Our muscles fibers are comprised by motor units. These motor units are governed by the “all-or-none” principle. What this means is once the group of muscle fibers get the signal to contract, they all respond together. So its either they respond or they don’t. In the case of benching a weight above your chest, the same thing happens.Our chest or “pectoralis” muscle spans a wide attachment line along the sternum where it originates and inserts into your humerus bone ( Your upper arm). When you use lift a barbell, all the muscle fibers that is involved in the movement fire up.
But your next question would probably be…” why not all the way down to your chest since you feel the contraction more right“? Actually, the contraction you feel is a tug on your tendons. Once your elbows go past your body when doing a bench press, you’re already hyperextending your shoulder. Now unless you love your shoulders more than you love your personal record on the bench press, I suggest you stop when your arms are parallel to your body.
I guess everyone who has been reading my posts are wondering if I will ever give out training secrets. Well, today’s your lucky day. I bet most of you, especially the guys would like to know how to increase their bench. After all, today is Monday which is International Bench Press day for most.
You enter the gym… place your bag in the locker… come out onto the gym floor… say hi to your buddies…. do some arm circles… then almost by instinct… plop on the bench press and do the bar pressing warm-up. Am I correct?
Actually, you’re doing the right thing. Except that by now you know that the principle of specificity doesn’t really provide you real gains if you’ve been lifting for quite a while. So why don’t we do a workaround? Instead of training your chest to increase your bench press, why don’t you train your rotator cuff muscles?
Why the rotator cuff muscles you ask. Well, the rotator cuff muscles are responsible for bracing your shoulders during pressing movements. Your supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and supscapularis all come into play when you’re lying on the bench and ready to press the bar. These are your synergist muscles and they support your agonist muscles (Chest and Triceps) during the bench press exercise. Imagine these muscles the base from where 40% of your power is coming from. Don’t you want to use that up as opposed to just 60% of your real strength? So here’s a sample rotator cuff exercise that you can include in your routine. Your bench press numbers won’t instantly go up mind you. But give it 4-6 weeks and you will be reaping the benefits of this exercise.
Photo courtesy of uptodate
