My 80/20 Tips on Fixing Shoulder Pain

A few months ago I started to feel pain in my right shoulder during a workout.

I backed off a few exercises, and even took a complete break from upper body training, but the pain wouldn’t go away entirely.

After some frustration and lot of experimenting, I zeroed in on three tips that helped me quickly get back on track.

My pain seems to be completely resolved and my shoulders are stronger and more resilient than before the injury.

If you’re experiencing shoulder pain, I recommend focusing on these three habits.

Habit #1: Hang from a bar overhead for a total of 5+ minutes per day, 3-5 days per week

Note: I recommend this for people with moderate, chronic shoulder pain, which in many cases is caused by shoulder impingement. If you have a dislocated shoulder or severe pain from a significant tear then you should consult with a doctor first.

I learned about the benefits of hanging from Dr. John Kirsch, an orthopedic surgeon who largely stopped prescribing shoulder surgery when he realized how well hanging can restore shoulder function.

Kirsch explains that as primates, hanging used to be part of everyday life. But even now, it’s still important for our orthopedic health. Regular hanging resolves most common shoulder dysfunctions, like shoulder impingement, and can even relieve back pain because it decompresses the disc spaces of the spine.

Shoulder impingement occurs when the rotator cuff tendons are pinched underneath the acromion, a bony extension of the shoulder blade. Hanging actually bends the acromion, restoring its normal position and creating space for the rotator cuff to move smoothly.

How to hang:

1. Grip a bar or doorframe with your palms facing forward, directly over your shoulders.

2. Look straight ahead, with your ears between your upper arms.

3. While your hands are actively gripping the bar, the rest of your body should be relaxed and inactive.

If you’re unable to hold your entire weight, stand on a chair or stool to assist you as you transfer some of your weight to the bar. Eventually you will be able to hang without the support.

When to hang:

• Hang at least once every other day.

• Hang for 10 to 30 seconds per rep, resting 30 to 60 seconds between reps.

• Try to start with at least one minute per day of cumulative hanging.

• Work up to 5+ minutes per day.

You may notice some pain at first, but this often goes away after a minute or two. Assuming you don’t have a severe shoulder dislocation or tear, hanging is a very safe exercise.

If you get really into hanging like I have lately, check out Ido Portal’s hanging challenge for a more advanced protocol.

Habit #2: Check your form on the bench press

When it comes to shoulder impingement, one of the biggest culprits in the gym is poor form on the bench press.

Here’s how to correct the most common mistakes.

Don’t lower the bar directly over your shoulders.

At the bottom of the movement, your elbows should be about 60-degrees from your torso. This will position the bar about 3 to 4 inches down the chest (away from the shoulder joint) for most people.

When the weight starts getting heavy, there is a tendency to bring the bar further and further up the chest, even to the point of being directly above the shoulders.

This position puts the arm in a more mechanically efficient position to move the bar, but you end up clamping down on your rotator cuff tendons, which can cause discomfort and damage over time.

Don’t grip the bar too wide.

You want a grip that positions your forearms vertically at the bottom of the movement, like this:

Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength, has a good tip to find this position.

Take a grip one hand width wider than a grip taken on the edge of the knurl. The knurl is the name for the grippy crosshatching on the barbell.

Hand width is generally proportional to shoulder width, so this should achieve the correct width in 95% of cases.

Habit #3: Target and strengthen your rotator cuff

If I could only recommend one exercise to strengthen your rotator cuff, it would be face pulls.

There is a way to modify your standard face pull to better engage the rotator cuff while maximizing external rotation of the shoulder.

Jeff Cavaliere has an excellent video on how to do this (starting at 1:25):

Keep in mind:

1. Anchor the rope (or ideally two ropes) to a point just above your head and pull from high-to-low.

2. Take an athletic stance with your feet, hips, and shoulders squared forward.

3. Grip the ropes from underneath with thumbs pointing backward.

4. Pull the anchor point of the rope to your nose.

5. The final position of your hands should be in the same vertical plane as your elbows (not pulled in towards your head or extended out wide).

6. Your hands should “beat” your elbows in the race backwards to the fully contracted position.

When to do face pulls:

• Work in this exercise at least two times per week.

• Start with just 10 to 20 pounds of resistance and adjust from there. If the weight is pulling you forward, then start with a lower weight. The focus here is form, not intensity.

• I like to aim for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

My shoulder is pretty much back to 100%, but I continue to hang and strengthen my rotator cuff to protect my shoulder from future injury as much as possible.

By adding in these small adjustments and habits, I’m pretty confident you’ll notice a difference within a few weeks.

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