It has become quite commonplace to hear about how dangerous it is to do
"upright rows" or "high pulls". Apparently these exercises are now been
identified as being risky for the rotator cuff muscles, on the basis of how
the muscles of the upper arm and shoulder are presumed to function in these
complex exercises.
Personally, in coaching many hundreds of lifters and thousands of others, I
have never come across anyone injuring the shoulder during upright rows or
pulls. Possibly that has to do with the fact that I have always been a
fanatic about good technique, but maybe it is also because the alleged
dangers of those exercises are grossly exaggerated.
There are several ways of executing high pulls and possibly it is the variant
in which one attempts to force the elbows vertically upwards as high as
possible which may pose some real risk. The degree of elbow raising, of
course, is strongly dependent on hand spacing, so that a wider hand spacing
will eliminate all possibility of this 'winging' action. Also, if one uses
lighter loads, it is possible to propel the bar powerfully upwards and allow
passive stressing of the shoulder joint to take place. There are also some
dreadful ways that some folk use to execute upright rows and high pulls, so
that injury may also have to do with poor technique.
So, in addressing this issue, it is important to identify exactly which type
of upright rowing or high pulling is being used. One needs to remember
that the major problem with upright rows may not lie in the exercise itself,
but the way in which it is used, as is the case with all exercises.
In making these comments, I am not doing so because I have any particular
affection for upright rows, since, as a long-time Olympic lifter, I have
learned that all of the other types of pull with wider hand spacing are more
relevant and productive. However, I am always interested in distinguishing
between fact and fiction, science and myth. In this case, I again suspect
that some well-meaning clinicians, coaches and fitness gurus have created a
monster out of a molecule on the basis of a limited understanding of the
kinesiology of yet another exercise.
It would be most interesting to hear what others have to say about their
experiences with various upright rows and high pulls or to read some
clinical references which show that these exercises definitely cause rotator
cuff injury.
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://www.egroups.com/group/supertraining
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