View Full Version : is military press bad..............

07-19-2004, 09:40 PM
for a tennis shoulder??

07-20-2004, 04:11 AM
There was a thread about this a month or so ago....you might want to look back or do a search. From the fitness gurus it seemed like the opinion was that any weight training that required lifting above the shoulder level might not be so good for you. Risk of rotator cuff damage and future impingement problems. After reading these opinions, I cut out presses from my routine. There's plenty of shoulder exercises left that don't require lifting above shoulder height.

07-21-2004, 02:05 AM
No resistance exercise if done with correct form and with light weights will be bad for you. Apart from helping to develop muscle endurance, the stronger muscles help to stabilise the body parts and joints during athletic movements and thus helping to prevent injuries(twists, sprains, etc.)

Weight training will be a problem/cause injuries if you

1) Try to 'prove' you have a big j0hns)n to other gym users by lifting very heavy weights

2) Use incorrect form with heavy weights. Although the risk of injury via poor form is possible with light weights the risk is much less.

3) Medical opinion has advised against it.

tnkGod4tns, You want strong ,flexible, non-bulky, slow-to-fatigue muscles for tennis. Stronger non bulky pecs can contribute some power to your forehand although technique is still key.

Bodyweight and physical strength are the main reasons why men hit harder than women of equivalent ranking.

This doesn't prove anything but FWIW I regularly use light weights at the gym and I have never lost a match due to my conditioning.

07-21-2004, 12:18 PM
If you lift the bar in front of your head instead of behind it, you are reducing the stress placed on your shoulder joint.

If you adjust the bench to be at a ~80 degree incline instead of sitting straight up, you are reducing the distance that your elbows travel above your shoulders, which will reduce the chances of impingement.

If you use a more narrow grip so that your forearms are closer to perpendicular with the ground, this will also reduce the amount of stress on your shoulder joint. This grip is not much wider than shoulder width. This also applies to bench press.

With these three factors, I believe it to be a safe and effective exercise and continue to include it in my routine.


07-27-2004, 06:22 AM
Why do it? What part of tennis requires you too press a heavy weight over your head? When possible, you should perform exercises that create strength and endurance in the motions you will performing.

There are plenty of shoulder exercises that get the results you need for tennis. The lateral raise, front raise, one arm upright row and rear lateral raise all work the shoulder efficiently and don't require lifting a weight over shoulder height. There are many variations of these exercises so you can do them over and over and keep challenging your muscles. Why take an unnecessary risk if you don't have too?

07-27-2004, 06:55 AM
True. If you're lifting weights ONLY for tennis, there's plenty of smaller isolation exercises that are more safe. You probably won't grow as strong from them. But if you're a tennis lifter, that shouldn't be much of a concern.

However, if you're lifting weights to simply get stronger and would do so even if you didn't play tennis, shoulder press is a great compound exercise for your shoulders and triceps. Compound exercises are preferable because they enable you to work your entire body with less activity, which is a big factor for recovery (and time).

Bench press has it's share of stress on the shoulder joint too, especially considering most people don't do it properly. I think the bench press also stresses the rotator cuff a lot more than shoulder press.

Either way, research should be done to understand the proper way to do any movement. I always follow the advice of authors that have a background or focus on physiology. There's no benefit in doing an exercise in a way that better targets a muscle but places too much stress on a joint. You can't get stronger if you can't lift because you're injured!