Rotator Cuff Exercises (Why EVERY WEIGHTLIFTER Needs Them!)

Stop holding back your upper body muscle growth making mistakes
like the one in this video -
One of the biggest mistakes weightlifters make with their upper body workouts is focusing on their chest, shoulders, back and arms while overlooking perhaps the most important muscle group of them all...the rotator cuff! More guys are kept out of the gym because of shoulder injuries from ignoring the rotator cuff muscles than almost all other causes.
The rotator cuff is actually a group of four muscles, three of which externally rotate the shoulder. The thing about the rotator cuff is that they are they only muscles you have in your entire upper body that control external rotation. All of the bigger muscles in your upper body contribute to internal rotation of the shoulder. As you can imagine, ignoring the only muscles that externally rotate the arm will lead to a massive imbalance in the shoulder joint.
More than that however is that role that a well balanced rotator cuff plays for weightlifters. The RC lends stability to the naturally unstable shoulder joint. It's job is to counteract the vertical pull of the deltoids which causes the head of the humerus to stay away from the roof of the acromion. Without the downward pull of the rotator cuff muscles, the shoulder joint becomes closed down and loses space which can contribute to shoulder impingement.
Once a shoulder is impinged, the tissues in the joint become inflamed which leads to an even greater decrease in joint space. Any overhead pressing movements, bench presses, or any movement that puts your arm over your head becomes extremely painful and weight lifters are forced to stay away from these movements in order to let the joint heal. This time away costs them precious muscle size and can set them back a great deal in their training.
Professional athletes are well aware of the importance rotator cuff exercises and they incorporate them into their training and workout programs. The ATHLEAN-X workout program, created by physical therapist Jeff Cavaliere specifically for pro athletes (and guys wanting to look and perform like them) includes the into a complete program designed to build athletic muscle from head to toe. To get your own copy of this program be sure to head to
For more videos on how to fix shoulder pain, the best shoulder exercises and ways to treat the rotator cuff...be sure to subscribe to our youtube channel at