Bulking up on shoulder muscle?

Darn well I couldn't find that article, sorry bud. I searched everywhere it could have been hiding. I may have a hard copy I printed out somewhere but that'll take some more digging. Fortunatly i'm on leave from work for another 2 weeks and have been cleaning up a bit so I may come across it.

Anyway, one of the machines to stay away from is the peck deck where you put your arms out to the sides in an L shape, and then pull your arms around to the front where your forearms meet. This machine is NASTY for bad shoulders and not much better for GOOD shoulders. Stay clear of it! Any benifit gained on this machine can be gained doing other exercises that DON'T put strain on your shoulder joint the way that machine does. It should be taken out of EVERY gym for good. It is useless and a true posers machine.

Anyway, doing the bench press with really good for would be a great exercise. Keep your hands about shoulder width apart or close to that, where is comfy. Forgot wide or close grip, they will put extra stress on your shoulders that is not needed. Press from your lower chest, just below your nipple, and as you rise up, move up in a curving motion so the bar ends up directly above your chin, then curve back down to below your nipples. This is the best form for your shoulders.
Benching with dumbels might be a good alternative as they allow for a bit more movement in your shoulders so you can vary your wrist rotation and things like that. I do'nt have the best shoulders and I like to have my dumbels length ways (head to toe) when they rest on my chest, and then sideways at the top, with the rotating motion on the way up and down. This feels the best on my shoulders, so therefor I can lift more weight that way and get more gain, with less pain.
Even a relatively new person to training knows the difference between unwanted joint pain, and muscle pain caused by heavy weights, so while your body is in a fragile state, you MUST listen to it. Some pains are absolutely NOT worth pushing through. Go easy and be patient and everything will start to come together. Also avoid pressing in the upright position unless using very light weights. And you will still want to press from your chest and not your shoulders...
Start of light, don't worry about anyone in the gym seeing you with light weights, just hold/rub your shoulder and shrug it around a bit before and after lifts. People will click that you have an injury and will appreciate that you're working through it in a smart manner.
Also, some supplements might help your shoulder repair. L-Glutamine may be one to look into while your in your healing stage. It is very helpful for rebuilding damaged tissue... It is often given to burns victims to accelerate their healing.
If you're still having problems a while down the track, you may also want to talk to your doctor seriously about steroid injections into your arm or shoulder muscles. As long as you aren't planning on competing, steroids under medical supervision can help a HUGEEEE amount in getting your joint back in working/better order than it was. It's unfortunate in a way that footballers and other sports stars don't have this option to help repair their injuries, but the rules are their for a reason...

Anyway, again, good luck! Their is nothing worse than having a bad joint that doesn't seem to heal, and shoulders if not looked after correctly, can bother you for the rest of your days, so realllllly look after it over the next few months. If any trainers give you exercises that you are unsure of or are uncomfortable, drop them, or at LEAST get a few more opinions before you battle on with it... Some people just have no f'n clue at all and really don't care if their miss information f'cks your joint up for life..
Thanks for listening through my long boring and probably bad grammered post.

thanks for the info, much appreciated, i did contact the site to see if they can dig me the article out, but not had a reply as yet.

Sharpy, don't tighten your pecs anymore than they are. In most people the front of the shoulders and the pecs are too strong and tight compared to the muscles at the rear. Work your rotator cuff muscles - the ones round the shoulderblade to create stability and balance in the shoulder first. Another way of putting this info is don't bench press. There is loads of free info on the web regarding rotator cuff training. :)

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Originally Posted by md

Sharpy, don't tighten your pecs anymore than they are. In most people the front of the shoulders and the pecs are too strong and tight compared to the muscles at the rear. Work your rotator cuff muscles - the ones round the shoulderblade to create stability and balance in the shoulder first. Another way of putting this info is don't bench press. There is loads of free info on the web regarding rotator cuff training. :)

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Good advice ;)

Very good advice cc

Actually, I agree with that too. =) You could look at some upper back exercises as well that don't put to much stress on your shoulders. The'll help balance out the pecs/upper chest muscles.

What ever you do just make sure you go easy with light weight for the first couple of weeks...and make sure you do full motion when working out to make sure the muscles get an even workout