Sore shoulder when you lift? What to check before you train around it

A sore shoulder is one of the most common reasons people stop training, or never start. It aches when you press, it twinges when you reach overhead, and it is uncomfortable to sleep on. The temptation is to rest it and hope. Sometimes that works. Often it does not.

Here is what I would check first, and how careful training can help.

First: does it need looking at?

A personal trainer is not the right first stop for every shoulder. Please see your GP or a physiotherapist before training it if:

• it started with a fall, a knock or a sudden pop
• it is very painful, even at rest, or keeps you awake most nights
• you cannot lift your arm at all
• you have numbness, tingling or weakness down the arm
• you have recently had surgery on it

If any of those apply, get it assessed. A good diagnosis makes everything that follows safer and quicker.

The usual suspects

For most people who come to me, the shoulder is not badly injured. It is irritated, weak or stiff. Common patterns are:

• Too much pressing, not enough pulling. Plenty of bench press and press-ups, very little rowing. The front of the shoulder gets overworked and the upper back gets lazy.
• Stiffness from sitting. Hours at a desk or behind the wheel make it hard to get the arm overhead without the shoulder taking the strain.
• Doing too much, too soon. A big jump in weight or a new routine with lots of overhead work.
• An old injury that never got back to full strength. The pain went, but the strength and range never came back.

How training helps

Shoulders like to move and they like to be strong. Once anything serious is ruled out, the aim is to find the movements that feel fine, strengthen the small rotator cuff muscles and the upper back, and slowly build back towards the movements that hurt.

In practice that means lighter weights, slower reps, more pulling than pushing for a while, and changing exercises rather than stopping training altogether. A barbell press might become a landmine press, or a dumbbell press with the palms facing each other, until the shoulder is ready.

A simple rule for training around it

Mild discomfort that settles quickly is usually fine. Sharp pain, pain that builds during a set, or pain that is worse the next morning means the exercise needs changing. Keep a note of which movements feel good and which do not. It is the most useful information you can bring to a coach or a physio.

Be patient with it

Shoulders improve, but tendons are slow. Think in weeks and months, not days. The good news is that you can keep training your legs, back and core the whole time, so you do not lose everything else while the shoulder catches up.

If your physio has signed you off but the shoulder still does not feel strong, or it niggles every time you train, have a look at my shoulder rehab training.