Pesky shoulder injuries remain one of the most common pet peeves for lifters inside the gym, but thankfully, Lee Labrada has a solution. In a recent YouTube video, Labrada and Gene Labrada shared a warm-up movement to strengthen the rotator cuffs for bulletproof shoulders.
For decades, Lee Labrada asserted himself as one of the best Open class talents in the world by marrying the perfect blend of symmetry, balance, and proportions. Despite never laying claim to a Mr. Olympia title, Lee routinely tested himself against opponents who outweighed him by as much as 50 pounds yet still managed to find success.
At 63 years old, longevity and strength are at the forefront of Labrada’s mind. Given the prevalence of shoulder injuries in fitness and bodybuilding, Labrada shared how he approaches rotator cuff safety with a warm-up technique.
Lee Labrada Shares Warm-Up to ‘Bulletproof’ Your Shoulders and Strengthen Rotator Cuffs
Labrada uses a very light weight (2-5 pound dumbbell) to warm up his rotator cuffs with 90-degree internal and external rotations.
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“One of the things that I do prior to doing my chest and shoulder workout is to do an exercise for rotator cuffs,” said Lee Labrada. “So basically what I’m doing is I’m pointing my elbows straight out right in line with my shoulder.
Pointing my elbow at the wall in this case at Gene here and basically just doing a 90-degree rotation. What it does is gets blood into that rotator cuff.”
Gene Labrada, a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, believes this rotator cuff warm-up is ideal on any type of push day.
“Usually on any type of a push day I’ll have them [the athletes I train] come into the gym a few minutes before a session and they will just do some light movements or some band work for the rotator cuffs. Anything upper body is going to involve the rotator cuffs I think it’s one of those things you can train multiple times a week to essentially bulletproofing the shoulders,” shares Gene Labrada.
Lee Labrada explains why this warm-up can help prevent common rotator cuff injuries and pec tears.
“Talking about bulletproofing the shoulders, I’m going to digress a little bit I’m going to ask you about bench presses because they are notorious for people getting injured on them, you know. If it’s not the pectoral, the potential for a pec tear if you don’t do them carefully, but there’s also the potential of really messing up your rotator cuff. It’s one of the most common culprits in terms of rotator cuff injuries,” Lee Labrada explains.
Aside from Lee Labrada, other fitness and bodybuilding experts have spoken up about building bulletproof shoulders. Namely, former Women’s Physique Olympia Dana Linn Bailey, who recently advocated for the efficiency of Arnold presses.
“The Arnold is a little bit more of an intricate movement because instead of just pressing up and down you’re kind of opening and closing. These are a great exercise especially when you do them a bit lighter which they are, for your rotator cuffs.”
Bodybuilding expert Jay Cutler also has some tips for preserving the body during such intense workouts as he favors incline bench press variations for safety:
“I prefer using an incline bench over a flat bench just because the comfortability of that movement, it definitely puts less strain on the shoulder joint in that position” Jay Cutler added.
With one of the best résumés in bodybuilding, Lee Labrada’s tips regarding safe lifting and exercise are critical for those eager to level up their fitness game. Using his 90-degree internal and external rotation warm-up, he is confident your rotator cuffs will remain well-oiled even amidst the toughest workout!
“Whenever you’re doing your pressing movements, be careful. Make sure you warm up and do your internal and external rotation warm-up sets,” Lee Labrada shares.
RELATED: Lee Labrada Explains How To Avoid Devastating Muscle Tears While Lifting Weights
Watch the full video from the Labrada Nutrition YouTube channel below:
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