Some exercises are dangerous and the Upright Row, shoulder exercise is one that needs to be buried six feet under. Jeff Cavaliere explains why.
The anatomy of the shoulder joint is such that there is a limited amount of space above the ball (in the ball and socket) for the bone itself as well as the other many important structures such as the rotator cuff tendons, bursa, and biceps tendon. When the shoulder joint is internally rotated (as you do with the upright row), you are rotating the greater tuberosity on the humerus directly into the joint, leaving less room for all of these structures.
If on the other hand you externally rotated your upper arm at the shoulder joint, you would do the exact opposite. External rotation at the shoulder joint creates extra room for the ball to move within the socket and still leave room for the other structures mentioned before.
Check out the video:
When performing the upright row exercise, however, you are forcing your shoulder joint not only into the internal rotation, but you are combining it with elevation. This only does not anatomically sit well or rank as a safe motion (especially when you consider the repetitive nature in which you do it from set to set, workout to workout. Changing the hand position to be wider and using an ez curl bar, while slight improvements, do not come close to fixing the problem. The only way to overcome the inadequacy of the upright row is to stop using barbells and instead use dumbbells and perform something called the high pull.
The high pull allows you to get your hands up and back behind your body when you lift them. This is due to the external rotation that can be obtained at the shoulder joint rather than the negatively impacting internal rotation. Because the dumbbells are not fixed in place or connected via a bar that cannot pass through your body, you can maneuver them this way to get the relief the shoulder joint is looking for to make this exercise safe.
Mobility doesn’t solve the issue either. Increasing shoulder mobility at the expense of stability in a different part of the shoulder is not solving the problem. The bottom line is, this exercise is a bad exercise that deserves to stay buried in the iron graveyard. There are many other options for developing the delts and certainly the traps.
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That’s a LIE
Excellent advice.
U want big traps just do heavy barbell and dumbbell shrugs. I never cared for upright rows.
Said Juice-tin Flex.
But you dont have big traps…..
Also, traps are more of a secondart muscle group for upright rows.
I don’t have big traps lol ok my one shoulder is bigger than ur head
You do realise traps are not the agonist in a upright row? but just a synergist the shoulder muscle is called M. Deltoid
You’re like 120 lbs you’re opinion is meaningless
Thank you, well explained, makes sense.
I agree. Have had multiple issues with my tendons and it’s always after shoulder exercises like that. Trying to heal one now that makes heavy bicep days a bitch!
David Simms
Dealing with that now myself!
I Olney do them when spotting some one bench pressing lol
Been doing em for years, never had an issue.
You want shoulder growth upright rows is a must
I had no issue doing this exercise.
& the earth is flat
Uprights r the best for traps if u know how to do em.. lol.
I wish people would stop making these sweeping generalisations about specific exercises. I do upright rows and behind the neck presses and never have shoulder issues. Why? Because they suit my physiology and I do them in a controlled manner with a suitable load. Exercise isn’t one size it’s all, find out what works (and doesn’t) for you!
Amen. I do the same and never had a single shoulder problem in 15 years.
Sorry, those have nothing to do with physiological move for anyone. Depends on different aspects who can handle it and who does not. You will meet injury with those once, Im so sorry.
So basically what I just said?! Maybe read my post again ?
So what you’re saying is that the guy in the video isn’t totally wrong, but he isn’t totally right either.
@Tom
Shahrukh Gilani what i’m saying is that an exercise that suits one person may not suit another. Everyone is different, different limb lengths, different range of movement at joints etc, you cannot say to everyone dont do an exercise because it dosen’t suit you.
Right. Thanks for the advice.
and there’s me thinking the most dangerous exercise is not to exercise
Ahmad Mishare
Cyn Mathieson watch
Smoo Russette I keep hearing bout this here and different forums
It makes sense I do those all the time when I’m doing shoulders
If The earth is round that means people in the North Pole is upside down
Yusuf Mohamed watch the video in the link maybe this why your shoulder bit bust
Can’t vouch for others experience and I never really liked his exercise but a bodybuilding coach I use suggest I start doing them and it made my weak shoulders much stronger & took away a lot of the pain I had before
If it’s not good for you it doesn’t not mean it’s bad for me.I will continue doing this exercise till I go six feet under
Sheryn Pennicott hey this is y I don’t do this and I hope it explains it well
Yes it does, thanks. They are dead to me now!
Rene Ramirez
you can fly if you do it 20 times …
Keep it coming, good stuff