Hey readers, I started this rotator cuff routine this past winter. When I went out to start climbing (locally of course :) in early spring I noticed my shoulders didn't hurt after doing hard overhanging routes (5.11 to 12) all day. I (stupidly) neglected this routine recently for about 3 to 4 weeks. I went out climbing this past weekend and my shoulder started hurting almost right away! I am back to doing this 3 times a week as before. It REALLY makes a difference!!! Make it part of your workout! It really pays off. I know that now! Me and my shoulders thank you Eric!!!
Thanks for the video, Eric! I've been doing the first exercise only for some time thinking that's enough for strengthening the rotator cuffs. I will mix in the other ones from now on!
You have literally changed my life, I have both shoulders that get dislocated many times, I was going out of climbing and starting to accept forgetting it, then I came across your video. and here I am, climbing 6b and on my way to 6c all because of you. And my shoulders definitely feel much more stable and you helped me at least postpone if not get rid of 2 surgeries. Thanks man😁😁😁😁
I am big fan of your books and I have learned a lot from you. I also admire your long passion for climbing, climbing training and coaching. I am climbing coach myself doing it for around 9 years now and climbing for over 25 years. What I recently discovered for injury prevention or physio is active stretching. Doing prevention or physio exercises with weights and passive stretching is very common but through out whole my climbing live nobody ever mentioned active stretching. I find it amazing I terms of healing properties. Helps my sore shoulder more than any other exercise and after over one year of annoying pain I am nearly pain free . After one simple exercise and 3min a day. Another two exercises fixed pain in my hands. I think active stretching is something very useful for climbers.
Nice one Eric! been doing these routines as per your book for some time now as a part of my warmup when climbing indoors and the shoulders are doing great. I am thinking of introducing these also when I go outdoor because I feel that is where I do not think of warmup that much but rather my attention shifts to the rock and I get distracted. An improvised TRX of accessory cord + a resistance band could provide a lot of options to warm up the shoulders.
Thanks Goran! Yes, doing some cuff warm-up is very smart before outdoor climbing--pack a resistance band and run through all the same motions. Happy climbing!
Hi coach Horst, I have a few of questions: Why is it better to train endurance rather than strength for the rotator cuff exercises? Shouldn't I neglect the internal rotation training as we are already trained in that movement? How many reps would you have 'left in the tank' after a set? Is it necessary to progressively overload these prehab exercises for desired outcomes? Thanks in advance, sorry if you have already answered these Q's elsewhere. Stay safe stay strong and climb on.
Great questions. First, The purpose of the rotator cuff is as a stabilizer muscle and is not intended for a max strength muscle. Furthermore, it would be quite easy to injure the rotator cuff if using heavy weights and low reps since it is not a heavy-duty part of the body. You are trained in that movement but this exercise helps isolate specific parts of the shoulder rather than using many other muscles when you are climbing. I would say have 50 recent of the reps you did left in the tank. You should not go to exhaustion as the goal is to build the muscles up gradually. Hope this helps!
Post shoulder dislocation, would you think increasing weight for maximum strength (slowly over months) would help build mass to prevent future dislocations?
Thanks for the great video, Eric. I suffer from a dislocating shoulder, I've already had one bankart repair and I do all the strengthening exercises from your book but my shoulder still cannot handle long punchy moves, especially when fatigued. A surgeon has recommended latarjet surgery which will highly reduce the risk of dislocation but will also affect my range of motion. Do you have an opinion on the laterjet procedure? Ive done a lot of research but cannot find much relating to climbers. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Not specifically familiar with that. But if you don't get any permanent solution just change your climbing style a bit. Although that is unfortunate to have to do, it will ensure maximum climbing time for your life despite the slight style reduction.
Hello Eric, thanks for the video! How often would you recommend to do this in a week? Since im projecting boulders in fb 8a, i realized that my rotator cuff muscles are really weak in comparison to the rest of my body, the moves are doable but still got pain in my shoulders while doing them.
Eric, is it viable to do the reverse flies on both sides at the same time, without a bench? I realize this engages a bunch more muscles so it's harder to keep good form, but if proper form can be maintained, this would remove the need for the bench, and make the exercise a bit faster since you can do both sides at once.
@@training4climbing Yeah, ultimately what happened was I tried it, and basically came to the same conclusion you did. Doing both at once was too prone to losing proper isolation of the muscles I was looking to train.
You should make a video on some real way to strengthen your tendons to combat injury. I went from bodybuilder type workouts back to climbing (bouldered 12 times total) and I don’t think my tendons/wrists were ready, or now that my hands have gotten less prone to rips I pushed them too far but I took a few weeks off (not rehabbing whatsoever) and the pain came right back and it killed my climb. The pain only lasts a day so should I just try to strengthen my tendons, be mindful of wrist flexion, and take a few weeks off? since it doesn’t seem severe? Or should I take months off even though I just got back into it after 6 months of work :/
SERIOUSLY? In 2019 you're going to suggest static stretching before exercise? It's very well established that static stretching before exercise is not an effective warm-up and does in fact *increase* an athletes chances of injury. Not impressed.
Eric, is it viable to do the reverse flies on both sides at the same time, without a bench? I realize this engages a bunch more muscles so it's harder to keep good form, but if proper form can be maintained, this would remove the need for the bench, and make the exercise a bit faster since you can do both sides at once.
It is best to do on the bench because of the isolation of muscles. If you really couldn't do it on the bench then it would be better then nothing, but again the bench is ideal.
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Hey readers, I started this rotator cuff routine this past winter. When I went out to start climbing (locally of course :) in early spring I noticed my shoulders didn't hurt after doing hard overhanging routes (5.11 to 12) all day. I (stupidly) neglected this routine recently for about 3 to 4 weeks. I went out climbing this past weekend and my shoulder started hurting almost right away! I am back to doing this 3 times a week as before. It REALLY makes a difference!!! Make it part of your workout! It really pays off. I know that now! Me and my shoulders thank you Eric!!!
Awesome! So glad to hear that! Train on and keep training smart!
Thanks for the video, Eric! I've been doing the first exercise only for some time thinking that's enough for strengthening the rotator cuffs. I will mix in the other ones from now on!
You have literally changed my life, I have both shoulders that get dislocated many times, I was going out of climbing and starting to accept forgetting it, then I came across your video. and here I am, climbing 6b and on my way to 6c all because of you. And my shoulders definitely feel much more stable and you helped me at least postpone if not get rid of 2 surgeries. Thanks man😁😁😁😁
Honored to be able to do what I do for you guys. Glad to see how it is effecting everyone else's life positively. Stay Strong!
Thank you ! Been looking for a way to protect from my slip tendon and build strength this is epic, love your book !
Thanks Doug!
OMG! I needed this a year ago! I’m starting tonight and incorporating these…
Awesome! Glad this helps!
Fantastic info Eric! Thanks
Anytime! :-)
Thank you for this routine!
You are welcome. Happy training!
I am big fan of your books and I have learned a lot from you. I also admire your long passion for climbing, climbing training and coaching. I am climbing coach myself doing it for around 9 years now and climbing for over 25 years. What I recently discovered for injury prevention or physio is active stretching. Doing prevention or physio exercises with weights and passive stretching is very common but through out whole my climbing live nobody ever mentioned active stretching. I find it amazing I terms of healing properties. Helps my sore shoulder more than any other exercise and after over one year of annoying pain I am nearly pain free . After one simple exercise and 3min a day. Another two exercises fixed pain in my hands. I think active stretching is something very useful for climbers.
Any suggestions for active stretching?
Nice one Eric! been doing these routines as per your book for some time now as a part of my warmup when climbing indoors and the shoulders are doing great. I am thinking of introducing these also when I go outdoor because I feel that is where I do not think of warmup that much but rather my attention shifts to the rock and I get distracted. An improvised TRX of accessory cord + a resistance band could provide a lot of options to warm up the shoulders.
Thanks Goran! Yes, doing some cuff warm-up is very smart before outdoor climbing--pack a resistance band and run through all the same motions. Happy climbing!
Invaluable info, thanking you for this video and teaching us all
Really useful stuff. Thanks.
Cheers!
Thanks for your video 👍
Hi coach Horst, I have a few of questions:
Why is it better to train endurance rather than strength for the rotator cuff exercises?
Shouldn't I neglect the internal rotation training as we are already trained in that movement?
How many reps would you have 'left in the tank' after a set? Is it necessary to progressively overload these prehab exercises for desired outcomes?
Thanks in advance, sorry if you have already answered these Q's elsewhere. Stay safe stay strong and climb on.
Great questions. First, The purpose of the rotator cuff is as a stabilizer muscle and is not intended for a max strength muscle. Furthermore, it would be quite easy to injure the rotator cuff if using heavy weights and low reps since it is not a heavy-duty part of the body. You are trained in that movement but this exercise helps isolate specific parts of the shoulder rather than using many other muscles when you are climbing. I would say have 50 recent of the reps you did left in the tank. You should not go to exhaustion as the goal is to build the muscles up gradually. Hope this helps!
To Summarize:
1:31 - 2 Minute Dynamic Warmup with Rubber Bands
1:51 - Gentle Stretches with Stick or Towel
2:54 - #1 Standing External Rotation 15-20x
3:13 - #2 Side lying External Rotation 15-20x
3:47 - #3 Reverse Fly leaning over on bench 15-20x
4:25 - #4 Standing Full-Can Exercise 15-20x
5:20 - #5 Side Lying Internal Rotation 20-25x
Super helpful!
Post shoulder dislocation, would you think increasing weight for maximum strength (slowly over months) would help build mass to prevent future dislocations?
You may have more of a connective tissue issue that this routine may not address (or could exacerbate). I'd get PT recommendations from your Dr/PT
Thanks for the great video, Eric. I suffer from a dislocating shoulder, I've already had one bankart repair and I do all the strengthening exercises from your book but my shoulder still cannot handle long punchy moves, especially when fatigued.
A surgeon has recommended latarjet surgery which will highly reduce the risk of dislocation but will also affect my range of motion. Do you have an opinion on the laterjet procedure? Ive done a lot of research but cannot find much relating to climbers. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Not specifically familiar with that. But if you don't get any permanent solution just change your climbing style a bit. Although that is unfortunate to have to do, it will ensure maximum climbing time for your life despite the slight style reduction.
Hey, I know you! I've got your book!
Hello Eric, thanks for the video!
How often would you recommend to do this in a week? Since im projecting boulders in fb 8a, i realized that my rotator cuff muscles are really weak in comparison to the rest of my body, the moves are doable but still got pain in my shoulders while doing them.
I would recommend you do it 2 days per week. This is meant to be a recovery and maintenance workout so it works out great for rest days!
@@training4climbing ok, thanks for the answer.
Eric, is it viable to do the reverse flies on both sides at the same time, without a bench? I realize this engages a bunch more muscles so it's harder to keep good form, but if proper form can be maintained, this would remove the need for the bench, and make the exercise a bit faster since you can do both sides at once.
I suppose it would work but you can isolate and control the body more if you do it one at a time.
@@training4climbing Yeah, ultimately what happened was I tried it, and basically came to the same conclusion you did. Doing both at once was too prone to losing proper isolation of the muscles I was looking to train.
You should make a video on some real way to strengthen your tendons to combat injury. I went from bodybuilder type workouts back to climbing (bouldered 12 times total) and I don’t think my tendons/wrists were ready, or now that my hands have gotten less prone to rips I pushed them too far but I took a few weeks off (not rehabbing whatsoever) and the pain came right back and it killed my climb. The pain only lasts a day so should I just try to strengthen my tendons, be mindful of wrist flexion, and take a few weeks off? since it doesn’t seem severe? Or should I take months off even though I just got back into it after 6 months of work :/
Can I use this to warm up for climbing?
Totally! But I tend to do it as part of my light lifting workouts.
I'm currently looking for a decent bench, have any recommendations? What do you look for in such equipment?
You can often find some decet used weights (or a bench) for a good price on Craiglist. Try there first. Good luck!
Hi, How can I contact you?
Looks like your right shoulder has worse range of motion compared to your left ;)
SERIOUSLY? In 2019 you're going to suggest static stretching before exercise? It's very well established that static stretching before exercise is not an effective warm-up and does in fact *increase* an athletes chances of injury.
Not impressed.
The only static stretch was for the pectorals, so the tight doesn't limit ROM. The contracting muscles were dynamically stretched.
Eric, is it viable to do the reverse flies on both sides at the same time, without a bench? I realize this engages a bunch more muscles so it's harder to keep good form, but if proper form can be maintained, this would remove the need for the bench, and make the exercise a bit faster since you can do both sides at once.
It is best to do on the bench because of the isolation of muscles. If you really couldn't do it on the bench then it would be better then nothing, but again the bench is ideal.