Alternative shoulder exercises

modmom1 wrote: »

I am looking for some ideas to work the shoulders other than overhead presses and lateral/front raises. I'm dealing with a long time rotator cuff issue and every time I do those moves I experience a set back in recovery even if I go lightweight. No push ups or pull ups either for the time being.
Upright rows are great and I can do those pain free. Any other suggestions?

Find out what's actually wrong with the shoulders or you might end up making the issue worse.

My issue was my rear delts weren't being worked as much, so it lead to imbalanced muscles over time.
Physio had me doing band pull aparts, face pulls and reverse flys.
Issue was fixed within a few months.

-- for the rotator-cuff "issue", have you looked at caring for the 4 muscles and tendons forming the cuff? Generally, unless there is some mechanical defect, they can be strengthened and stretched using very light weight exercises (like sub 10-lb) -- I'm just 'thinking on the keys' here, but with proper care, you may be able to reduce the severity of your rotator issue and load up your delts a bit more. (as posted above, some of the dumbbell lofts can help to reduce impact to your sensitive cuff as they allow for alternate articulations of the joint)