At Cressey Performance we work with a lot of overhead athletes, especially baseball players, and we frequently see shoulder problems ranging from acute issues like AC joint pain and external/internal impingement to more serious scenarios such as shoulder separations or post-surgery rehab. When I use the word “acute” here, I’m not downplaying chronic impingement; it’s just to put things in perspective: some shoulder pathologies require more careful attention and TLC than others.
I’ve lost count of how many times someone walks into our facility with persistent shoulder pain, bracing for the worst, only to discover that their push-up form is terrible. You don’t need bells, whistles, or fancy remedies to fix this—just learn to perform a push-up correctly and avoid making the shoulder unhappy.
But it isn’t always straightforward. For many people—the average gym-goer or those who lift heavy—the daily ache becomes second nature. It can be as routine as tying your left sock before the right, reaching for coffee, or even feeling like pain is a badge of honor for those who spend their free time lifting. While there is some risk involved, simply “dealing with the pain” isn’t an option in my book.
A sore shoulder can derail progress more than almost anything. Below are some of the more common reasons why your shoulder may be giving you trouble.
1) Your technique is horrible
Chances are a large part of shoulder pain comes from less-than-ideal technique. Even long-time lifters can have flawed form. Taking the time to learn how to push up, bench press, and rowing movements in a way that’s friendlier to the shoulder will go a long way toward keeping your shoulders healthy. Poor technique on even seemingly simple movements like face pulls can be harmful—wrong grip, scapular movement out of place, and neck posture that lets the shoulders slump can crowd the joint and worsen pain. Do it right, and your shoulder will thank you.
2) Your program isn’t balanced
Structure matters. It’s common to see pushing exercises favored over pulling, which can create chest-driven imbalances and weak upper-back musculature that stress the shoulder. A common approach is to increase pulling to pushing to restore balance—often aiming for a 2:1 or 3:1 pulling-to-pushing ratio. But there’s more to consider: we also need to address superior/inferior scapular balance and the interplay between upward and downward rotation.
Many overhead athletes (and even the general population) present with shoulders that sit too depressed. Downward rotators like the lats, rhomboids, and sometimes the lower traps can pull the shoulder downward, disrupting the coordination between the scapula, humeral head, glenoid, and acromion. Rather than simply shrinking the problem to “pull more,” focus on promoting upward rotation of the scapula. Exercises like forearm wall slides with a shrug and back-to-wall shoulder flexion can help. It may also help to scale back heavy deadlifts, farmer carries, and other movements that pull the shoulder girdle downward in favor of more overhead work, waiter carries, goblet variations, and barbell movements that encourage proper positioning.
That’s it for today. Check back tomorrow for more insight into why your shoulder might be off—or why it might not be the issue at all. A note on inspiration: this piece drew some ideas from an article I read on EliteFTS.
