What’s the point of being big and strong if you’re always hurting? Nobody cares about your deadlift numbers if you throw out your back every time you sneeze. And your barrel chest isn’t very impressive if you can’t lift your arms high enough to put on deodorant. Sure, various bumps and bruises are inevitable, but training should enhance your quality of life, not detract from it. Most of us begin lifting because we want to feel better, look better, and get strong. But why do so many of us forget about the “feel better” part? It doesn’t mean you need to stop training hard. Strength and muscle are the cornerstones of resilience and longevity, and the best prehab and rehab method is smart training. Choose exercises that build strength and muscle while simultaneously improving overall function. Here are seven of the best muscle-building, joint-sparing exercises that all lifters should be doing. 1 – Dumbbell Squeeze Press The barbell bench press is the king of all upper-body exercises, but it has a couple of drawbacks. For starters, it’s not that great for pec development. Since the bar inevitably hits the chest on each rep, it restricts a full range of motion. So the pecs offer little to no help after the first third of the movement. It’s also notorious for wrecking many lifters’ shoulders. While the dumbbell bench press is a worthy alternative, the squeeze press has shoulder-saving, hypertrophy-inducing benefits too. It involves squeezing two dumbbells together as hard as possible throughout the duration of each rep. The squeeze press has three advantages: It creates maximum tension. As opposed to relying on gravity alone, the squeeze press adds “inward” tension that amplifies the involvement of the chest, reinforces a strong mind-muscle connection, and lengthens time under tension to a skin-splitting degree. It helps with bench press mastery. It’s a good teaching tool for the barbell bench press. For most lifters who aren’t strength coaches, the classic cues that accompany the barbell bench press are gibberish. The squeeze press is arguably the best non-verbal tool for reinforcing factors like elbow positioning, full-body tension, lat involvement, and “bending” the bar. It’s shoulder and wrist-friendly. The neutral grip and constant inward tension allow for more “wiggle room” in terms of external rotation and promote optimal shoulder packing/centration of the glenohumeral joint. Plus, the squeeze press doesn’t require heavy loading to produce a meaningful training effect, which makes it a good option for lifters training around shoulder pain. 2 – Barbell Overhead Shrug There’s no denying that upper traps – the type that resemble two softballs on each side of the neck – puts the finishing touch on the power look. Problem is, most lifters train the upper traps solely via scapular elevation, or “shrugging,” despite the fact that their most vital function is upward rotation. Since upward rotation is one of three movements that the shoulder blades need to go through to lift the arms overhead, it’s pretty important. Most go-to trap exercises – namely, the barbell shrug and its derivatives – can do more harm than good for those who struggle with bad posture and overly depressed scapulae. In particular, there are three red flags that occur upon the descent of a shrug: 1. The bar/dumbbells pull the shoulder blades down into scapular depression. 2. The upper traps are lengthened, which makes them less effective upward rotators. 3. The downward rotators of the scapulae become overactive. Combine that with how they’re most often performed – through a small ROM and with unnecessarily heavy loads – and the result is internally rotated shoulders, an inability to lift the arms overhead, and, consequently, a laundry list of postural problems, mobility limitations, and shoulder pain. Overhead shrugs are a better way to train the traps. Here’s why: They work the traps in alignment with their most vital function: upward rotation. Since the upper arms are abducted above 90 degrees, the overhead shrug puts the scapulae in an upwardly rotated position while still allowing for the same “shrugging” motion to occur. They’re an exceptional trap builder. One of the best ways to hypertrophy a muscle is to isolate it while doing its true function. The overhead shrug fits the bill perfectly since it minimizes levator scapulae activity, a “shrug” muscle commonly associated with shoulder dysfunction, and isolates the upper traps more effectively. They’re a game changer for shoulder health and performance. Overhead shrugs can be a godsend for individuals who can’t lift their arms overhead since they strengthen all of the muscles that work on the scapulae (the upper, middle, and lower traps, as well as the serratus anterior) while promoting optimal overhead mechanics. 3 – Two-Arm Landmine (or Viking) Press Most lifters have no business pressing a barbell overhead. Due to mobility limitations, a weak anterior core, poor
Origin: Get Bigger, Feel Better: 7 Smart Exercises