There's a fine line between being sore and being injured. In the former case, you have to push through the pain. In the latter, you need to stop and address the pain before it gets worse and you end up having to take a month's hiatus from training; or worse, you're forced to have surgery.
In terms of shoulder injuries, it seems that most people either develop or further exacerbate shoulder problems by using the classic barbell bench press (1).
There are of course numerous ways one can injure their shoulder, but doing so through bench pressing is particularly common. Therefore, for this article at least, I'll focus on some effective, more shoulder friendly alternatives to the traditional bench press; and, I'll further go into some important accessory exercises you might want to consider adding to your weight training program either for rehab or "prehab" (preventative rehab) purposes.
First up are floor press variations. Yes, floor presses do reduce your range of motion to a certain extent, but using a full range of motion is not necessarily the "safest" option.
Rather than go into the details myself, here's a link to a fantastic article that'll get you started and well on your way towards implementing a variety of floor press variations in your routine: 7 Shoulder-Friendly Pressing Variations.
Another option you could consider are weighted dips. There's actually quite a bit of debate regarding the safety of dips. Many people often report experiencing shoulder and elbow pain when performing them (2); however, when done with the right technique, these joint issues can be avoided. Personally, I think dips are an excellent mass gaining exercise. They engage a good deal of your musculature, including your chest, triceps, anterior deltoids, lats, and traps (3).
In order to perform dips safely and effectively, you should be sure that you limit your range of motion to no less than a 90* angle at your elbow joint following the eccentric portion of the lift. Additionally, your triceps shouldn't go below parallel with floor. Also, be sure that you use a forward lean so as to ensure greater chest activation.
Now, on to prehab exercises.
As "they" say: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With that in mind, here are three prehab exercises for you to consider (4). You don't have to do all three, but if you can include at least one of them as a staple, you'll go a long way in preventing shoulder injury. (Follow the links to learn proper technique).
Face Pulls
Overhead Shrugs
Push-ups
That's it for today. Give these lifts a try and see what you think.
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