The importance of training the rotator cuff muscles is something that is generally overlooked. This small group of muscles are very important to a wide range of exercises as they stabilise the shoulder, and without stabilisation of the shoulder, technique will pretty much go out of the window and theres a good chance you'll get hurt. Let me just say from personal experience that shoulder injuries suck and stop you from doing almost everything! So lets be smart about how we train and do everything we can to prevent a shoulder injuries from occurring.
Rotator exercises only require a small weight to isolate the correct muscles otherwise you start using your deltoid to perform the movement.
- 90 degree angle at the elbow.
- Set the shoulder.
- Arm parallel with the floor.
- Rotate the shoulder while keeping 90 degree angle at the elbow.
- Ensure the back of the arm stays parallel with the floor.
Alternatively the exercise can be performed on a cable machine.
- Set the shoulder.
- 90 degree angle at the elbow.
- Keep elbow tight to the body.
- Watch out for morons in the mirror flexing their guns.
- Keep 90 degree angle at the elbow.
- Keep elbow close the the body.
- Rotate at the shoulder
- Bring arm across the body.
There are other alternatives to working your rotator cuff, mainly the positioning of the resistance. As long as there is good rotation at the shoulder, it is kept stable and the resistance is low then you're on the right track to building up the muscles and reducing the risk of injury.
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