Upright Rows

[Sculpter]

Who here does these & who doesn't because they believe they are an injury waiting to happen?
I'm just curious because I myself do them & have never injured myself w/them.Also, because of a work related incident my doc told me that an x-ray of my shoulder revealed that it looked like a bomb exploded in my shoulder joint.As long as I do my ritual warm up w/2 sets beforehand (or just jump into them after presses) i've never experienced troubles.Squating on a medicine ball is looking for trouble if you ask me  .Let's hear what you ppl. think about this & your opinions.

[pumpster]

Squatting on a medicine ball is insane. Good example of carrying a trend (the use of a ball in training) too far.

After a warm-up, upright rows are fine, especially using an E-Z curl bar to take pressure off the wrists and keeping the reps in the medium 8-12 range. Also like pulley upright rows.

To hit the lats better the elbows have to be kept high.

Or, just do free weight or pulley shrugs if they work better and/or are easier on the shoulders.

[sarcasm]

i just don't think they're necessary for mass, shrugs are better for traps and standing presses and laterals are better for side delts.

[Dos Equis]

i just don't think they're necessary for mass, shrugs are better for traps and standing presses and laterals are better for side delts.

I agree.

[brianX]

They're the best trap exercise around.

[haider]

I hear theyre the best shoulder-wreckers around as well..

[JPM]

One of my favorite exercises is the upright row, a prime mass builder giving thickness to the whole shoulder girdle.  Can be used as a  good transfer exercise from one muscle group to another: delts/traps. A lot of people will try to raise the bar to chin level or above, allow the bar too far away from the body when lifting and positioning  the bar more as a medium grip rather than a closer grip (4 to 6 inches for most). Then they wonder how they got those shoulder problems and blame the exercise it's self. As was suggested, an E-Z bar will suit some better than others. Can also use DB's, either together or one arm at a time.

Another version up upright rows/pulls is the Hi-pull, where the grip is more in the middle range and the bar in raised close to the body and just about nipple high. Very good laterial head delts and trap builder. Can also do this with DB's for a different slant on the upper body. Might want to us both versions (upright row & Hi-pulls) in the same workout. To my limited knowledge, no one is going to  hit the lat's better by keeping the elbows high. The lats are little involved in this exercise and act more a a stablization throughout the pulls. Good luck.

[figgs]

I do Heavy Upright Rows (wide grip), and haven't had any injuries directly related to them that I know.

Question about Heavies: I aim for just below the chin, with a slight push from the legs, calves and lower back. What frustrates me is that I feel the push is taking away from the shoulders. Any way to keep them push-assisted but get the feeling in the delts? It's like after I've done three sets I think "have I really used my shoulders? Or just all momentum?" I push from the start of the exercise, so maybe pushing at the top is better. Thanks for any help.

I do upright rows very strict and that's how I'm able to actually feel that I've used my deltoids during the movement. No signs of injuries or anything. It's not my favorite shoulder exercise but it is something I do quite often because it is effective nevertheless. Getting back to your question, are you talking about cheat reps? If so, I cheat with a slight jerk using my legs but a very SLIGHT jerk. JUST enough to get the weight sent into the peak contraction position.

[shiftedShapes]

you'd be better off with power cleans

safer and more efffective for slapping meat across the shoulder girdle

[JPM]

SS: I agree but the subject was the cause and effect of upright rows. Actually the Hi-pull (as mentioned before) is another pulling exercise, like the power clean, where 300lbs+ could be used for reps by most anyone. Resulting to uncommon thickness across the chest as well as the total shoulder girdle, front, side & back. And a prime developer of the traps and whole chain of back muscles from the neck to the hams. Too bad not many BB'ers want to invest in the effort of including any of those in a back program. Good Luck.

[figgs]

SS: I agree but the subject was the cause and effect of upright rows. Actually the Hi-pull (as mentioned before) is another pulling exercise, like the power clean, where 300lbs+ could be used for reps by most anyone. Resulting to uncommon thickness across the chest as well as the total shoulder girdle, front, side & back. And a prime developer of the traps and whole chain of back muscles from the neck to the hams. Too bad not many BB'ers want to invest in the effort of including any of those in a back program. Good Luck.

Your post inspired a thread..

[WOOO]

i did power cleans for years while playing ball... the only problem is the amount of energy they use and the possibility of injury to the spine and biceps tendons... i really like the standing cable row at the end of my shoulder workout... nice and controlled slow reps

[JPM]

Problem is that most BB'ers think of cleans/Hi-pulls as PL'ing or Olympic super heavy training, for sets of 3's, etc, as example. Even regular cleans/Hi-pulls off the floor are judged this way. If a BB'ing style of training was adopted, for example 3X8-12 reps, than some very favorable results could be gained in the way of growth. Some exercises are labeled one way or another without just cause.

Wooo referring to the amount of energy involve in power cleans (hanging cleans, power rack/box cleans, etc) is very close to the truth.  Those Big Boy exercises do require more energy because of the many muscles involved  for that exercise. They can be hard work. Like the Squat, DL. etc. But those are the bases of fast muscle/strength growth. Putting more demands on the body with those super compound movements is what makes them so rewarding. That is how the body, considering the trainee has a good diet and is giving the body enought recovery time, adapts and grows.

If the Power Clean seems to be a potentional problem than it might be suggest that the Hi-pull be used instead. Though either of these execises are not for everyone. Catching the weight in the clean can produce problems for some, if too much weight is used as a regular part of heavy training. As a quick lift, the tensions on the body can be increased. Periodization usually works very well when compound  lifting exercises are included week in, week out. I know a few Oylmpic lifter's and watched their training habits. The traps and lower back muscluar development is not to be believed. Can almost hide your fist in some of those guy's lower back development. Good Luck.

[Overload]

I've been doing upright rows for years and never had any problems. make sure you are warm and use a moderate weight starting out. you can up the weight once you get the form down. sometimes i'll superset upright rows and lateral's to get a very good delt workout. my traps also get worked very well when doing upright rows.

any shoulder exercise can destroy your rotator cuffs if you don't do it right...

 

[JPM]

Good advice from Overload. I have SS'ed PBN with upright row's with very good results. Some people have labeled both of these productive exercises as taboo, for whatever reason. Like any other exercise a proper warm-up, flexability and paying attention to the way the exercise is done is of all prime importance. Good Luck.