Hey Friend,
If you've ever had a rotator cuff injury or you have
problems with your rotator cuff right now, you need to read and re-read the
following guest article from my buddy Eric Wong, strength and conditioning
coach to multiple UFC fighters and other professional athletes because if
there's any athlete who needs strong, flexible and stable shoulders, it's a
fighter and if these techniques work for them, they'll work for you, too. – Lee
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Guest article by Eric Wong, BSc, CSCS
In this article, you're going
to learn the TRUTH about rotator cuff problems... AND how to fix them.
It's important that you read
the whole thing because the common advice of stretching is absolutely NOT the answer.
Let's start with a bit of
Kinesiology…
The rotator cuff consists of
4 muscles:
1. Supraspinatus
2. Infraspinatus
3. Teres minor
4. Subscapularis
While the name of this group
of muscles implies that they're responsible for rotational movements of the
shoulder, there are 3 very important functions that often get overlooked:
Little-Known Rotator Cuff
Function #1
The rotator cuff is
responsible for ensuring the head of your humerus (upper arm bone) stays in the
center of the joint.
If this stability doesn't
happen, a bony part of your shoulder blade called your acromion will bump into
tendons, nerves and even other bones in the shoulder joint, causing pain and eventually damage.
So the key is to train the
rotator cuff to keep the bones aligned, with some of the best exercises
involving movements in multiple planes
of motion, such as proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF)
exercises and end-range rotational isometrics.
Little-Known Rotator Cuff
Function #2
The rotator cuff muscles play
a huge role in decelerating the arm in high velocity movements that are common
in most sports, such as throwing a ball, swinging a bat or club, or throwing
punches.
Without proper eccentric
function of the rotator cuff muscles, if you perform high velocity arm
movements like throwing a ball, swimming or swinging a golf club or tennis
racket, muscle strains and joint sprains
will be common occurrence, leaving you sitting on the sidelines more than
you'd like.
Little-Known Rotator Cuff
Function #3
The rotator cuff ensures the
scapula rotates in sync with the humerus, which is called the scapulohumeral rhythm.
Much like point #1, if your
scapula and humerus don't move in the proper rhythm, excess stress is placed on
certain muscles and other soft tissues, which results in tendonitis, muscle
tears, pain and weakness often in one or more of the rotator cuff muscles.
And here's the thing that most people SCREW UP...
Because of these important
functions, if your rotator cuff isn't working properly, shoulder tightness
often occurs to compensate for the wonky cuff.
What this means is that after a rotator cuff problem
your body wants to stabilize the joint to prevent further injury and does so essentially by tightening up other muscles
including your pecs, rhomboids (between the shoulder blades), lats and more.
To fix these issues, MOST
people will try and stretch the tight muscles (but not smart people like
YOU)...
Unfortunately, simple static
stretching goes against your body's own innate wisdom because it causes
INSTABILITY…
Exactly the problem your body is trying to prevent in
the first place!
That’s why true, long-term
elimination of rotator cuff problems and shoulder tightness requires much more
than static stretching.
I've created a routine
designed specifically to stabilize and then strengthen your rotator cuff called
the Rotator Cuff HARDENING Routine and you get it
as a FREE bonus right here with the Shoulder Flexibility Solution.
It's an 8-week plan of attack
including how to alter your regular weight training workouts to ensure speedy healing and rapid gains in rotator
cuff stability and strength.
So if you're dealing with
rotator cuff problems now, or you have in the past, take advantage of this
special offer right now and get started hardening your rotator cuff so those
problems become a distant memory:
Coach E
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NOTE FROM Lee:
That's some awesome advice that will keep your
shoulders healthy!
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