Deltoid exercise, tension felt in neck (upper trapezius?)

fresh_start59

First time posting in this group, but I've been reading here since last month. I have several exercise-related questions, but I plan to dole them out one at a time over the next month, as I feel more comfortable confessing my health sins. Let's just say that nobody has ever seen me in a gym and it is unlikely that they will in the near future.

Today, my question is about some strength exercises that I started about five weeks ago.

I use resistance bands and follow a few exercises in the pamphlet that came with the bands and a couple others that I've seen on YouTube. The two exercises that I'm having problems with are supposed to focus on the deltoid muscles (front raise & side raise). I am very weak in this area, using a light resistance band.

The problem I'm having is the tension I feel in my neck (upper trapezius?) rather than in my shoulders (deltoids). I don't know much about the muscle groups, except for what I've been trying to teach myself on the ex.rx.net site. While I'm weak in both arms, I'm especially weak in my left.

Is this normal to feel the tension in my neck or am I doing something wrong that should be corrected?

Chief_Rocka

I would think that your traps act as a stabilizer for those movements, so I don't find it odd that you feel it in your traps.

But if you're feeling it, more in your traps then in your shoulders, you're probably doing something funky with your form.

__RANDY__

no real way we can diagnose this with out a video, but like rock said you are prolly doing something funky

Sarauk2sf

I would think that your traps act as a stabilizer for those movements, so I don't find it odd that you feel it in your traps.

But if you're feeling it, more in your traps then in your shoulders, you're probably doing something funky with your form.

^^yep. When I am fatigued and my form breaks down on lateral raises (and other lifts) my traps come into play more. Try to focus on keeping your shoulders down and chest out a bit. If they start to tighten up, just roll your shoulders back a bit them quickly to reposition.

SideSteel

I would think that your traps act as a stabilizer for those movements, so I don't find it odd that you feel it in your traps.

But if you're feeling it, more in your traps then in your shoulders, you're probably doing something funky with your form.

^ This.

How far past parallel are you going with the upper end of the movement? IIRC (could be wrong on this tidbit but I thought I recall this as correct) going past parallel will involve the trapezius more. And by parallel I mean your arm being parallel with the ground.

fresh_start59

I have been concentrating on keeping my back straight, but have not thought much about keeping my shoulders down.

And I think it's quite possible that I am lifting too high, because I'm lifting higher than parallel. Last week I attempted to move up from the light band to the medium band for these exercises, but I was not strong enough. Maybe it is time to put two feet on the band (more resistance) instead of just lifting higher.

One of these days, I'll get brave enough to videotape my routine for critique, as I have nobody in real life who would know what I'm doing wrong. But I have a terrible fear of uploading a video and having someone see it and turn it into one of those "funnies" that people send around the net. You know, the kind that goes up on Facebook with the headline: "LOL Old fat woman attempts to exercise LOL"

I do appreciate this group as I can tell that those who are here are serious about helping others.

Sarauk2sf

If you are uncomfortable posting a video here, feel free to PM any of us.

Sarauk2sf

Locking as part of our administrative procedure to try to help track open threads: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/914180-thread-locking-and-intake-follow-ups

Feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel to unlock if you want to add anything.