The truth is that there is no such thing as “pain free muscular gains”. Muscle gain requires years of hard work in the gym. The pain I am referring to here is joint pain and how to gain muscle without causing painful tendonitis in the AC joint or elbow that prevents you from lifting. I start this video out with a mock infomercial for my “StudMuffin” app:
For those who are dissappointed the above app is not yet available, please read why history says that apps are a huge step backward in progress. The following images are from the above mock infomercial and are heavily morphed:
Building shoulders without joint pain
Avoid the following techniques:
- elbow goes behind the plane of the body
- palms facing downward
- all standing exercises (they allow bouncing)
- fast reps, swinging, and use of momentum
- excessive range of motion
- high weight with very low reps
Avoid the following exercises:
- vertical rows (bands, dumbbells, cables or barbells)
- face pulls (bands, dumbbells, cables or barbells)
- shrugs (bands, dumbbells, cables or barbells)
You might ask what on earth you can do as it seems I have crossed everything off the list!
- seated dumbbell side raise with limited ROM
- seated dumbbell front raise with limited ROM
- seated dumbbell press with limited ROM
- seated “747s” (reverse flys) with limited ROM
- seated dumbbell side trap raise with limited ROM