How To Fix Shoulder Pain for Gym Rats (3-STEP FIX!)

Shoulder Pain KILLING your gains?

Does your shoulder scream "OUCH!!" when you dare to attempt:

Bench press
Muscle-ups
Pushups
Dips?

Does it pinch or impinge when you even think about:

Pull-ups
Handstands
Overhead press
Jerks / push-press, etc?

Well, don't worry, my fellow gym rat...

Shoulder pain IS a real pain in the a**, BUT it doesn't have to stop you from achieving your fitness goals. That's why...

In today's super comprehensive article + video, you will discover how to fix your shoulder pain using 3 helpful exercises (and some basic anatomy 101).

But before we get to the exercises, let's dig deeper…because if you don't fix the root cause, the pain will come back.

Why did you get shoulder pain in the first place? Why are your shoulders so easy to re-injure?

During the large ranges of motion and strength level required in weight lifting, things can go wrong (especially if you lack full range of motion.) In simple terms, you end up ramming your soft tissues against your hard tissues and pissing everything off.

Once this happens, shoulders are notoriously prone to re-injury. One basic reason is that there is not a lot of space in certain parts of the shoulder. For example, subacromial impingement occurs when the subacromial space is narrowed, and the soft tissues get compressed, injured, and inflamed.

Due to this lack of space + the swelling that occurs – once inflamed, the shoulder easily becomes re-inflamed.

If you've had this happen, you are frustratingly familiar with this vicious cycle of re-injury.

When this condition lingers further, it can progress to even more damage to the tissue (tendinosis). So, addressing the root causes is essential if you want to fix the issue for good.

What Are the Root Causes of Shoulder Problems?

Pain is a complex topic, so it's impossible to give one answer. It can be biomechanical (anatomical, structural, postural, movement-related) or lifestyle/nutrition/recovery-related.

All of these are factors:

Bone morphology (genetics)
Mobility (determined by a combination of genetics + training)
Posture habits (lifestyle)
Sleep habits (lifestyle)
Sitting habits (lifestyle)
Poor nutrition (lifestyle)
What's going on in your head (psychology)

…etc., etc

However, the #1 reason for shoulder pain ( in the gym training community) is a mobility/flexibility problem.

If you've been lifting weights for some time, I will assume you know the proper technique and some good basic shoulder strengthening exercises (band pull-a-parts, etc.). So, we are going to focus on mobility issues.

What Causes Bad Shoulder Mobility?

As with pain, there is no single cause of bad shoulder mobility. Typically, it is a combination of posture, anatomy, soft tissue quality, and range of motion (ROM). Specifically:

Acromion process morphology (shape) which can be Type 1, 2, or 3 (bone shape)
Glenohumeral / scapula position and motor control during movement (technique)
Thoracic spine posture (posture)
Density or shortness in the pecs, delts, lats, or other structures of the shoulder (muscles)
Neck musculature tightness (especially scalenes) and first rib motion (muscles)

Sounds pretty complicated, huh? Well...sorta.

In layman's terms – your posture sucks, and your muscles are too dense or tight.

How do things get this way? How does a joint designed to be super mobile become the opposite of mobile?

Looking around at the world we live in, sitting for 8+ hours a day since childhood (grade school, middle school, high school, college, work, driving, television, etc.)…how could we not have tight, injury-prone shoulders?

Most people have been slowly losing shoulder range of motion at an insidiously slow pace since childhood. It's usually in your 20s, 30s, or 40s when the sleeping volcano that is your lack of range of motion in your thoracic, glenohumeral, and scapula region rears its ugly head!

The good news is you can reverse this trend! Often dramatically if you learn the right approach.

I did it.

20,000 athletes around the world using my programs have done it.

And so can you.

In the video above, you'll find 3 key exercises to help you start freeing up and mobilizing your shoulders NOW, so you can get back to lifting weights in the gym.

But Wait…What If You Have Tight Shoulders But No Pain?

If you have tight shoulders but don't experience shoulder pain – congratulations!

However, before you start celebrating, be aware that your body may be compensating.

Your limited range of motion has not yet caused an injury – but is it damaging other areas of the body?

One comical example is when my big, buff athletes (who can barely put their arms overhead) brag to me about how they've never had shoulder pain.

That's great!" I say. "How are your elbows and low back doing?" (usually met with a blank stare followed by a gradual "A-Ha!" look of realization)

Learning that pain doesn't always manifest in the area where you are tight is a vital lesson for athletes.
Think about it...your body's number # goal is to keep you moving at all costs.

Imagine being on the great plains of Africa millions of years ago and experiencing a stubbed toe. If your body couldn't adapt (compensate) and use other muscles and movement patterns to hobble around, you would be lion food!

The human body is an amazing compensation machine. It will get the job done and keep you moving…even if it has to slowly sacrifice more and more "other" joints in the process.

As a modern-day gym-going athlete, this means that:

Your body will sacrifice your elbows to help you swing into your bar muscle ups.
You will get a tight, achy back when doing back bridges because your shoulders are too tight.
You will get elbow pain in muscle ups or dips.

The take-home lesson – tight shoulders can lead to injured elbows and backs. Even if you don't have shoulder pain, try the exercises in the video above to prevent problems down the road.

How to Use This Article/Video to Fix Your Shoulder Pain

Always consult your doctor or medical professional before trying these exercises.

The meat and potatoes of this article/video are the exercises themselves. Watch the video again, carefully examine the body positioning and cues, and try all the exercises.

Give these techniques a fair trial for a few weeks, and your shoulders will thank you.

Tips to remember:

The magic is in the tissue work + the stretching + learning to move better.
Try all the exercises (even if you've tried "something similar" before)
Keep working on the tissue until you've made a noticeable change (less pain, better texture.) Two minutes per area minimum.
Stretch for a minimum of 1-2 minutes (two is better if you're new to stretching)
Alternate techniques (breath/relax, contract/relax, etc.)
Retest your range of motion after each exercise

The Ultimate Test of Your Progress

It's important to get a "before and after" to see how you are improving.

To measure your progress, we will use two popular movements:

The Back Bridge
Dips or Muscle-Ups

I chose these 2 movements because they test the ability of your arms to go into flexion and extension.

The ultimate test of your progress is the actual movements you care about. If you prefer to use pull-ups, pushups, hanging, skin-the-cat, or any other movement – go ahead. The important thing is that you test where you are before and where you are after.

What should you be looking for?

Look for two signs of progress: Less pain + more range of motion.

Try the exercises in the video above 3-4x per week for 30-60 minutes and test your progress with your bridge, dips, or muscle-ups over the next 3-4 weeks.

You will want to develop a body maintenance routine based on these principles in the long term. You take care of the human body by massaging it, stretching it, and moving with better posture and technique.

Summary and Action Steps:

Strength training is one of the most rewarding physical activities you can engage in. It is also one of the most demanding activities requiring a high degree of flexibility + strength + motor control.

If you find yourself coming up against a shoulder issue – then step off the gas pedal of training for a short period of time while you focus on regaining some lost mobility. Remember, the goal is to be a life-long, pain-free athlete. Don't sacrifice short-term goals for long-term health.

If you have a long way to go, know others have been in the same situation (myself included.) If one man or woman can do it…so can you.

So be patient, be persistent, and be better.

Yours in flexibility,

-Shane