Is the shoulder press/handstand pushups bad for the shoulder??

[kenpopaul]

Hi All,

I was performing the shoulder press the other day on my totalGym whilst using high tension as part of my HIT workout and felt a slight twinge in my shoulder. Nothing serious but enough for me to notice and stop my workout.

I did another workout 3 days later and just took it very easy but the past couple days at work my shoulder has been a bit sore.

I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where) that the shoulder press is bad for the shoulders. Is this ture?? does anyone know anything else about this?

I'm thinking of dropping this exercise and going back to shoulder lateral flyes or DVR only. It's a shame as the shoulder press is one of my favourite shoulder/mass gaining exercises.

I look forward to hearing your views/ideas on this

Kenpopaul :act-up:

[EyeDoc]

There's nothing inherently bad about the shoulder press unless it's done behind the neck.

[John Peterson]

Hey kenpopaul,

Our friend Eye Doc knows what he is talking about. There is nothing inherently wrong with that exercise. BUT (there's always but, isn't there) one thing that I have noticed with the Total Gym is that the pressing handles are in exactly the same pre-set, pre-determined position for everyone regardless of physical proportions or natural leverage. It could be that it places you is a position that in a compromised position that is less than advantageous as relates to your shoulders for that particular exercise. It's something to think about and consider.

---John Peterson

[keith james]

Hi Kenpopaul

I have never seen a total gym so i do not know the design of them, i have done a lot of handstand pushups in the past, i love the exercise, i do them with my own bodyweight with my hands just wider than shoulder width and i have never had any problem with them.

Have you thought of doing them without the totalgym for a while just to see how it feels.

All take care.

KEITH JAMES.

[Royce]

It’s been my experience that people have been hurt with just about every exercise imaginable. But it is also true that some people find that particular exercises are especially problematic.

For instance, when I was lifting weights, I noticed that a lot of my peers weren’t well suited for bench presses--by that I mean that they frequently injured themselves or developed sore spots.

Similarly, high repetitions pushups tend to give tendonitis I the shoulder area. That doesn’t mean that these are inherently bad exercises. Truthfully, anyone who trains hard is eventually going to have to deal with pain. Certainly, anyone who has played sports or done hard physical labor knows what I’m talking about.

So go slow and pay attention to what your body is telling you. Fortunately, it’s possible to work around problem areas, especially when one employs DVRs.