# Shoulder shrugs



## mmuscle (Mar 8, 2005)

Hello guys.

 I have a quick question here on shoulder shrugs. I know a guy who has ended up with quite painful shoulder joints, which he believes (and his doctor seems to agree) is caused by years of performing heavy shoulder shrugs in the gym.

  I personally have never had any problems with this exercise.  Although I admit that I don't do it as regularly as he did.

  What do you guys think about this??

  Cheers!

 mmuscle

http://www.makemuscle.net


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## DOMS (Mar 8, 2005)

Did he only do shrugs? He did nothing that worked his shoulders but shrugs? If not, then how does he know it was the shrugs? There are way too many factors for this guy to just say it was a particular exercise. I'll give the schmuck the benefit of the doubt and say shrugs did him in. But maybe it wasn't the exercise in particular, perhaps he let his ego choose the weight for him. Maybe he did them with bad form.

  Hell, he just may have had genetically weak shoulder joints.

  Well, you get the point...or at least I hope you do.


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## Yanick (Mar 8, 2005)

shrugs have almost nothing to do with shoulders except with a lot of weight in your hands your shoulder muscles/tendons/ligaments need to keep your humerus from popping out of its socket (glenoid cavity?)


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## Tommy (Mar 8, 2005)

I wonder if maybe he was rolling his shoulders when he was doing them,I did that one time and I could feel pain right away


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## LAM (Mar 8, 2005)

Tommy said:
			
		

> I wonder if maybe he was rolling his shoulders when he was doing them



that's what I would put my money on


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## DOMS (Mar 8, 2005)

So, is rolling the shoulders during shrugs a harmful thing?  Because that's the way I do them.


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## P-funk (Mar 8, 2005)

cfs3 said:
			
		

> So, is rolling the shoulders during shrugs a harmful thing?  Because that's the way I do them.




not good at all IMO.  You can't take a heavy weight and ask your shoulders to rotate (if you are rolling them back then you are externally rotating them which is even worse as those muscles are really really tiny in comparrison to the internal rotators anc will rip much easier).  The upper traps don't rotate your shoulder, they elevate your scapula.  Shrugs are intended to do just that, elevate your scapula.


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## Tommy (Mar 8, 2005)

You know! I see people doing that alot but it feel's like it just strains that area to much and it actually hurt when I did it,im assuming you have no pain when you do it so maybe it just work's for you


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## min0 lee (Mar 8, 2005)

Rolling the shoulders is such a waste of time, I did them for so long........and got nothing out of it.

The way I do them is I squeeze at the top and hold for 2 seconds the release, squeeze release.  It may be hard with alot of weights but the results look good.


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## Triple Threat (Mar 8, 2005)

I've done heavy shrugs for a long time now, and haven't suffered any shoulder injuries from them.  I did, however, have bad results from upright rows many years ago.


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## DGuy (Mar 8, 2005)

I've noticed traps grow quickly, for me anyways.


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## Maynard Keenan (Mar 8, 2005)

Strict Form And U Should Just Be Hitting Your Traps.....he Must Have Been Doing Something Else.  Ive Never Had An Injury Thank God.


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## Tommy (Mar 8, 2005)

On a side note here,Is there a reason I can shrug 200 # on dbells and when I go to shrug with bbells I can only do about half that? the only thing I can think of is im holding the bbells in front of me as oposed to db's on the side's.my grip fail's me with bb's and not with db's


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## Rich46yo (Mar 8, 2005)

I love shrugs but im starting to get elbow problems from them. I love alternating seated overheads with the dumbells and then shrugs...........Rich


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## Maynard Keenan (Mar 8, 2005)

Wear Some Straps.....im Able To Shrug Much More


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## Tommy (Mar 8, 2005)

Maynard Keenan said:
			
		

> Wear Some Straps.....im Able To Shrug Much More


That's an ego thing with me,but I can see how benifitial they might be I guess I would rather build up my grip strength before using them though


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## j rizz (Mar 8, 2005)

nah i like the straps. witht he straps i can do 120lb(the highest the gym goes) and without em i can only do like 70's or so, id rather compromise my grip for nice traps.

this might be off topic, but what do u work ur traps with, i work them on my back day..is that okay or should i do it on my shoulder day.


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## PreMier (Mar 8, 2005)

Work rhomboids/traps on back day.

Straps are for pussies, ditch em.


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## Maynard Keenan (Mar 8, 2005)

PreMier said:
			
		

> Work rhomboids/traps on back day.
> 
> Straps are for pussies, ditch em.


  theres no way i could shrug over 500 lbs to failure without straps......and this much weight puts some thickness on your traps.


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## Mudge (Mar 9, 2005)

I have slowed down my own shrug movements, right now I am working up to 465 where in the past I had 600 on the bar at least once. This is much, much easier on my body, and my endurance in the gym as well.

I have no recent pains from shrugging at all. I did tweak my neck and something in my left backside sometime last year probably from heavy shrugs. If you do them at a moderate and controlled pace I think you should be fine, no shoulder rotation AT ALL.

My traps incidently picked up a little size after killing some momentum.


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## Tommy (Mar 9, 2005)

j rizz said:
			
		

> nah i like the straps. witht he straps i can do 120lb(the highest the gym goes) and without em i can only do like 70's or so, id rather compromise my grip for nice traps.
> 
> this might be off topic, but what do u work ur traps with, i work them on my back day..is that okay or should i do it on my shoulder day.


 I've alway's done them on back day's,some people prob. hit em twice a week I know if I do upright row's on shoulder day's im hitting them pretty good then to


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## mmuscle (Mar 13, 2005)

*Shrugs*

O.K it was his form.

 I saw him at the gym the other day and he was rolling his shoulders. With I might add a silly weight. You could almost hear his shoulders grinding.

  mmuscle

http://www.makemuscle.net


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