Top 3 Rotator Cuff Exercise Mistakes (FIX YOUR SHOULDER PAIN!) – ATHLEAN-X™

Fix your shoulder pain by working out like an athlete here

The rotator cuff muscles are the most overlooked and misunderstood shoulder muscles and are usually ignored in most workout programs. When you realize that these small muscles are the only ones you have to counteract the overwhelming imbalance established by the more attention getting chest, back, and arms, you start to see their importance.

In this video, I show you the top 3 biggest rotator cuff exercise mistakes and how to fix them. You see, even when people do buy into the concept of incorporating these exercises into their workout programs it doesn’t mean that they get them right.

First, when performing any band or dumbbell external rotation exercise for your shoulder, you have to be sure to keep your elbow and upper arm tucked closely to your side throughout. Very commonly, people tend to let their elbow drift away from their body as they complete the external rotation range of motion. This activates the lateral deltoid which quickly tends to dominate the movement. The problem with this is that an overactive delt is a major contributor to the imbalance that already exists between it and the rotator cuff muscles on that arm.

Allowing the deltoid to dominate the strength balance will lead to a migration of the humeral head upwards as you raise your arm overhead (as in a shoulder press). To keep the humerus centrally located in the glenoid fossa you need to have adequate strength of the rotator cuff. You will do this only if you don’t allow it to be overshadowed when doing isolated external rotation rotator cuff exercises.

The second mistake is performing your rotator cuff exercises with a rounded shoulder. Round shoulders come from poor posture. Strengthening your rotator cuff muscles with poor posture is only reinforcing the issue you have already. To do this correctly, you have to align your shoulders back and down and then perform your rotator cuff exercises.

Continuing on this point and leading into the third mistake, control of your shoulder blade will help dramatically. To position your shoulder blades “in your back pocket”, you’ll need to have adequate strength of both your serratus anterior and lower traps muscles. In the video, I show you two exercises you can do to strengthen these indirect shoulder muscles using as little as your own bodyweight.

The bottom line is, in order to have a fully functional shoulder without shoulder pain you need to strengthen your shoulder completely. This means making sure your rotator cuffs are strong. If you are looking for a workout program that can help you with your shoulder pain while allowing you to build much bigger shoulders, chest and arms…be sure to head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System.

For more videos on how to fix shoulder pain with the right rotator cuff exercises and stretches, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at

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