The Absolute Essentials of Effective Shoulder Conditioning
Brian Devlin
BS, CPT, NMT, LMT

Topics Covered:
1) Anatomy of The Shoulder Complex
2) Skeletal Planes
3) Types of Contraction
4) Alternative Training Methods

Most people believe that a pushup is merely assuming a prone position and lowering their body to the floor by whatever means possible and then forcing oneself back up at whatever effort is neccessary to complete the movement.

These commonly held beliefs also apply to shoulder development. The average gym rat trains shoulders just like this:

1. 3 x 12 overhead DB press
2. 3 x 12 DB side raise
3. 3 x 12 DB rear deltoid fly
4. 3 x 12 DB front raises

This is what you can expect when you walk into most health clubs as ” Proper Training Technique.”

The truth is, these exercises, although somewhat effective, are highly inefficient.
Let’s look at the muscles that make up the shoulder Complex

Trapezius
Deltoid
Infraspinatus
Supraspinatus
Teres Minor
Subscapularis

In order for one to train the shoulder complex with efficiency all 6 of these muscle groups need to be targeted. How we target muscles will determine the nature of the adaptive response that occurs within the muscle. Bigger does not mean better, faster or even stronger. Developmental success is relative to what our muscular needs may be. We need to train to meet our environmental demands.

Lets briefly look at anatomy and physiology of the shoulder complex in terms of muscle location and action

1) Trapezius: Elevates, Retracts and Depresses the scapula
Trained through resisted elevation, retraction and depression of the scapula.

2) Deltoids: Abducts, flexes and extends the humerus
Trained through resisted movement of the humerus in all skeletal planes of motion.

3) Rotator Cuff: Trained through resisted stabilization of the axial skeleton and resisted humeral movement in all skeletal planes.

Now that we have a foundational understanding of the shoulder complex, lets move our intention toward training it properly.

The human body was designed to move in 3 planes of motion. These planes make up movement.

The skeleton can operate in a sagittal plane, frontal plane or a transverse plane.

An effective training program must address all the planes of movement to be efficient.

Now let’s look at origin and insertion of the muscle on the body.

The most effective movement will occur when origin and insertion move closer together, brace or to act on the attached bones.

The type of contraction will determine whether the action is one of stability, acceleration or deceleration.

Stability occurs when a group of muscles contract isometrically to hold the skeleton in a certain postion.

Acceleration happens when a group of muscles contract to produce a concentric force thus acting on the skeletal system to produce movement.

Deceleration happens when a group of muscles contract eccentrically to slow down a skeletal system in motion.

There are so many check points that go into effective shoulder complex conditioning. In summery, remember to train the shoulder in all skeletal planes and use all forms of muscle contraction.

At my studio Synergy Fitness located in Charleston, SC, we go out of our way to approach training from a multi-planar and multi-joint mentality.

Our motto is to ” Think Outside The Box ” on every level.

Here is a video to help illustrate a multi planar Fringe Training

 approach to effective shoulder development.

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