Many swimmer’s have been told to avoid any kind of shoulder press. One of the reason’s for this is because the shoulder’s already get worked in the pool so there isn’t need to strengthen them outside of the pool.
Yes, your shoulders are worked in the pool, but that is more of muscular endurance exercise, not a strength exercise. The two adaptations will be different. In order to increase your strength and power during your pull, you will need to do strengthening exercise with lower rep, higher weight movements for your shoulders. Like shoulder press.
Another reason that swimmer’s avoid shoulder press’s is that if the shoulder’s become overworked, then you are at a higher risk for injury. In order to avoid overworking the shoulder’s, then you should avoid doing any extra strengthening exercises for them.
While it does make sense that if your shoulder’s are overworked your risk of injury is higher. But it doesn’t make sense that performing shoulder press exercises outside of the pool would fatigue your shoulder’s enough to result in injury.
After all, wouldn’t the same principle apply for the muscles on your back?
The deltoids and pecs are primary movers of the shoulder in all of the swimming strokes. And since those muscle groups are strengthened by various shoulder press exercises. It would make sense that you would want to strengthen them. Stronger primary movers will result in increased force. Which can translate to increased speed.
While I agree that you don’t want to do only shoulder press exercises in dryland or the weight room. I do believe there value in strengthening the primary movers of the shoulder, the deltoids and pecs. This is something that I also believe is missing from many rehabilitation programs. And is often why so many swimmer’s struggle with persistent shoulder pain.
This blog will go over the shoulder press exercise progression I like to use with the swimmer’s I work with in both performance and rehabilitation settings.
Prerequisites:
Before starting an overhead exercise progression, there are a couple of things you want to be able to do first.
Firstly, you want to be able tolerate weight bearing exercises. (Weight bearing means you putting your bodyweight through a specific joint, in this case the shoulder). By tolerating weight bearing exercises, you have shown you are able to handle a good amount of load, or stress, through the shoulder.
Secondly, you want to have full or close to full pain free range of motion. If your pain spikes to a 6/10 when your arms go overhead. Progressing to weighted overhead movements will only aggravate your issue.
Lastly, you want to have to completed exercises like wall slides, three way banded pull apart, or plank to down dog, that help promote proper scapular activation and control. The reason for this is you want to make sure you proper scapular strength and control overhead, as weakness in these muscles may result in pain during any shoulder press exercise.
If you can do all of these, you are in the clear to start lifting overhead.
Landmine Press
Landmine press’s might be one of the most under utilized exercises for swimmers. They are tolerated extremely well and help promote proper scapular upward rotation. By not lifting straight overhead, the landmine press is more forgiving and serves as a good entry point for strengthening overhead.
Half Kneeling Single Arm Shoulder Press
Next up is the half kneeling single arm shoulder press. By being in a half kneeling postion and using only one arm, you decrease the chance of any compensations occurring from elsewhere. You also aren’t able to use as much weight in this position, which forces you to gradually increases the loads placed on your shoulder. Minimizing the risk of “overworking” your shoulders.
Standing Single Arm Shoulder Press
After proving tolerance to the half kneeling singe arm shoulder press, it is time to try the single arm press in the standing position. One of the errors I will commonly see in the standing position, is cheating using the low back or pushing with your legs to get the weights overhead. This is a sign your shoulder is NOT ready for that weight, and starting at lower weight will serve you best.
Standing Double Arm Shoulder Press
Last, but certainly not least, is the standing double arm shoulder press. Commonly called the military press. The only difference here, you are pressing dumbbells on both arms. You may be able to do a little bit more weight on each arm, but after going through this progression. Your shoulder is ready for it!
In conclusion…
Swimmer’s like yourself should consider adding shoulder press to your strengthening routine. While you definitely need to focus on other muscle groups too, having 1-2 shoulder pressing variations in your routine can lead to major performance improvements in the pool. If you are an injured swimmer, progressing to these exercise may be exactly what you need to get back in the pool pain-free.
Happy swimming,
Alex Ewart