If you are an overhead athlete, a thrower, tennis player, swimmer,
volleyball player etc. you need to use strengthening exercises that involve
overhead movements. This is another myth that seems to pervade the exercise
community and has definitely sprinted in to the athletic development community.
You need to pay close attention to how you get overhead. You must get hip to
the shoulder. Cheat and use the legs and tilt the trunk to get the arm
overhead. I stay away from seated overhead pressing because you cannot get
proper trunk tilt and you cannot use the legs to help connect the shoulder to
the hip. In season I tend to stay away from straight bar benching, because the
bar locks the hand in one position. Instead I use dumbbell bench and it various
permutations, with dumbbells you can accommodate and adjust hand position to
alleviate any stress on the shoulder. I do also avoid behind the neck pull
downs, use front pull downs instead. A key here is to avoid adding stress to
stress to stress. For example during periods of high volume throwing, hitting
in volleyball or yardage in swimming the amount of overhead lifting is
significantly reduced. I usually make up that volume in rotational medicine
ball work and more emphasis on hip mobility. It is important to have your
greatest emphasis on upper quadrant strengthening precede this high volume
overhead periods to sufficiently prepare. Also during these times pay more
attention to pec, lat and psoas stretching. (Please note I did NOT say more
stretching of the shoulder joint) Keeping those areas supple will enhance hip
to shoulder connection and reduce stress on the shoulder. The shoulder is a
remarkable mobile joint that needs a lot of help to do its job properly, that
help comes from the trunk and the hips. If you do not strengthen using the
overhead movements you are selling out. Lets also not forget proper mechanics. Put
the whole body in position for the arm and shoulder to produce and reduce force
optimally. Good mechanics is related to how you get the arm overhead. That is
the topic of another post.
6 Comments
Juan Ruiz-Tagle
Thanks for this post, I am constantly having to treat and train kids from the Sarasota sharks, in my opinion their dry-land training is poorly designed and could use the type of training and method that you have been talking about.
Howard Gray
Dispelling myths… one at a time!
Jonathan Hewitt ATC
Brilliant!! Absolutely Brilliant!!
Jill Gerber
Amen! Amen! Amen!
The trunk/hip connection in the attack arm swing in volleyball is one of the most poorly taught and most overlooked aspect of the skill. I would love to see you present on this very subject some time at USA Volleyball’s High Performance Coaches Clinic. There is not enough education on this topic in the volleyball community and why we have so many injured athletes.
Ben Richens
Great post! could I also add that not only the connection between trunk/hip on the way up but also on the way down (catching the weight/resistance etc… with the knees). Something which is also a must for overhead activity.
upper leg injury
The most serious leg injury compensation claims in Ireland are those relating to motorcyclists who have been involved in a road traffic accident and broken their femur.But the danger of leg injury is equal to athletes and sports persons.