Questions regarding lying tricep extentions

[Aslin]

I've been doing them for the past couple of weeks in lieu of dips as my rotator cuff has been playing up. I'll preface this by mentioning I've seen Rip's video.

Firstly I've heard they are a good alternative since they don't place as much stress on the cuff, is this correct? They don't seem to be aggravating mine at any rate.

Also, is it advisable to think about tucking the shoulders in and assuming form much like you would bench pressing? Or is it better to keep things loose (i.e shoulders not retracted)?

Thanks for the time, sorry if this has been dealt with before, I did run a quick search.

Matt.

[Tom Campitelli]

This sounds like a question for Reynolds, but that won't stop me from writing something.

I can tell you that you will not be able to pinch your shoulders back in the same way as you do in the bench press as you lower the weight behind your head, nor would you really want to do so. Your scapulae are meant to move (upward rotation) as you raise your arms (shoulder flexion) toward your head. That the LTEs are not hurting your shoulders is good and probably provides much better information on the safety of the movement than any other source.