Rotator Cuff Training
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Rotator Cuff Training
Your rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that act together to stabilize the shoulder. It is referred to the 'Scapulohumeral' area of the human body (that attaching to your scapula and humerus bones), and hose muscles being your teres major, teres minor, deltoid, supraspinatus, infraspinatus and subscapularis muscles. Yes, those are all real; go check online if you don't believe me (they reside in the upper back). Let's figure out what that means to train your rotator cuff properly.
Most of the muscles in your Rotator Cuff musculature work internal and external rotation (turning your arm/palm in and out). This all has to be done through griping something. What I mean is, your rotator cuff muscles work when you exercise your grip. Most injuries come to your rotator cuff when quick explosive shoulder motions are done. Rotator Cuff injuries also arise a lot because of improper lifting techniques. If you are involved in a sport where you want to make sure you do not hurt your rotator cuff, work on your grip.
When you exercise, utilize your hands a lot. Don't wear those terrible wrist straps that help you lift more, but instead workout while holding weights so that your forearms also get tired. The more you grip things strongly and stress your muscles, the harder your rotator cuff muscles have to work, strengthening that musculature and preventing injury! I don't care if you just grab weights and hold them for a prolonged period of time, but use your grip as much as you can when you exercise so that you won't tear your rotator cuff.
Comments
1/10/2009 2:33:46 AMsteve said:
i hate to be the one to contradict this, but doing grip-strengthening exercises is not the way to properly improve rotator cuff strength. while improving your grip strength is important, in order to work the muscles of the rotator cuff, one must actually ROTATE their arm under resistance. (additionally, the deltoids and teres major are not generally considered to be a part of the rotator cuff itself, though both muscles are parts of the shoulder and help in rotation)
to more effectively strenghten the rotator cuff:
using a light dumbbell or (better yet) a resistance band attached to a fixed object, hold your elbow against your torso with the upper arm vertical, and a 90 degree bend in the elbow (making the forearm parallel with the floor, and placed in front of the torso) and slowly rotate your forearm out away from your body while keeping the upper arm vertical. alternatively, hold the upper arm parallel to the ground at shoulder height, with a 90 degree bend in the elbow and slowly rotate the forearm from pointing toward the ground to pointing upward to the ceiling, again using a light weight or a resistance band. these exercises will more effectively strengthen the rotator cuff and prevent injury.
1/10/2009 6:01:05 PM
Cary said:
I am not sure where you have gotten your information. The correct muscles of the rotor cuff are the (S.I.T.S.) muscles. Supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis.
Reference: Tortora, Grabowski: Principles of Anatomy and Physiology.
1/15/2009 9:54:34 AM
Nicholas said:
Oh I like it! You are both right, and I love that people know this stuff. I absolutely agree that your deltoid and teres major are not part of the S.I.T.S. model, but that does not mean that they don't play a part in your rotator cuff strengthening. You do have to 'rotate' your shoulder to strengthen your rotator cuff, and your Deltoids anterior (front) fibers are involved in external shoulder rotation, with your lateral (middle) fibers being involved with internal shoulder rotation. Also, your Teres Major is involved in the internal rotation of your humerus, which is the opposite action (external humeral rotation) of that which the Teres Minor. Lastly, the term 'Rotator Cuff' is in reference to the muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder...and without your deltoid and teres major, you'd have a mighty tough time doing any kind of shoulder stabilization.
10/2/2009 12:42:56 PM
Pete said:
How do you do pnf stretching for SITS muscles?
1/25/2012 4:12:37 PM
Rick said:
Keep in mind that the Pectoralis Major and Latissimus Dorsi assist in rotation of the Humerous as well, but that does not make them Rotator Cuff muscle nor Should they be concidered in rotator cuff strengthening. Also, it is not stabilization of the shoulder, it is stabilization of the head of the Humerous in the Gleniod Cavity that defines them as Rotator cuff muscles.
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