Shoulder warmup

[Steve Ostrander]

Coach Rippetoe,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge in the books and on the forum.

I'm a creaky 41M novice, making good progress, but have experienced some setbacks related to shoulder pain.

I have a questions regarding shoulder warm-up;
- SS press chapter says approach the empty bar after a good shoulder warm up
- PP suggests a bunch of wiggling and arm waving are not rqd for warm up
- On either internet or in SS, you suggest a 2.5 lb rotator cuff cheerleader routine is probably not an effective use of time

What do you recommend for shoulder warm-up?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I usually hang a while, do a few chins, some broomstick dislocates, and the empty bar for several sets.

[hatmanii]

I have shoulder issues as well and my general warmup for my upper body is thus:
10-20 passes of Upper Back foam rolling
15-25 arm circles at High, Middle, and Low
25ish Shoulder dislocations with a broomstick
20sec Lat Stretches
20sec Behind the back Tricep Stretches
20sec Chest Stretches
Then general warmups of the given lift at Barx5x2 then reps at 55% 75% 85% Worksets

Minus the lift specific warmup it takes about 3-5 minutes.

I've been doing this for about a month now and any lingering pain from my surgeries and A/C separation are practically gone. Best of luck to you with your shoulder.

Shoulder injuries are quite the bitch.

-Hat

[Steve Hill]

I have shoulder issues as well and my general warmup for my upper body is thus:
10-20 passes of Upper Back foam rolling
15-25 arm circles at High, Middle, and Low
25ish Shoulder dislocations with a broomstick
20sec Lat Stretches
20sec Behind the back Tricep Stretches
20sec Chest Stretches
Then general warmups of the given lift at Barx5x2 then reps at 55% 75% 85% Worksets

Minus the lift specific warmup it takes about 3-5 minutes.

I've been doing this for about a month now and any lingering pain from my surgeries and A/C separation are practically gone. Best of luck to you with your shoulder.

Shoulder injuries are quite the bitch.

-Hat

Jesus. You'll be as old as SteveO by the time you get to the working sets.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

The above specific suggestions are swell; I would just add that whatever you choose, do it consistently. I find that when I am a good boy and do some stretching at the beginning and end of the day, and as required during the day if I feel something acting up, my shoulders and other joints are generally much happier. Ounce of prevention, pound of cure, and all that rot.

[hatmanii]

Jesus. You'll be as old as SteveO by the time you get to the working sets.

3 surgeries, an A/C separation (grade 3), a years worth of worthless rehab and 8 years of chronic (albeit manageable) pain.

Yep, I think I can spare 5 minutes.

[Sean Berry]

I guess this further confirms that I am some sort of weirdo....I do a couple of arm circles in each direction, then start with 135 for a bit and go to it.

On days when I'm really feeling stiff I'll do a set with the bar first.

sb

[Steve Hill]

3 surgeries, an A/C separation (grade 3), a years worth of worthless rehab and 8 years of chronic (albeit manageable) pain.

Yep, I think I can spare 5 minutes.

I want to watch you do just the dislocates in 5 minutes. Can I bring popcorn?