The Ferrigno Shoulder Press can be a game-changer for anyone dealing with shoulder, neck, or upper back pain. It also boost muscle gains for body builders who feel like they have hit a brick wall with shoulder growth. It emphasizes the importance of understanding our bodies and finding effective ways to move and strengthen them.

The Ferrigno Shoulder Press: A simple approach to training the incredibly complex structure of the human shoulder. In the book Pumping Iron, the authors observed a wall hanging in the Santa Monica Golds’ Gym. It was a schematic of a railroad car. Its significance was described as affording vision for the simple elements that together become complicated assemblies. In the film Pumping Iron, Lou Ferrigno is seen performing shoulder presses in a unique manner. I concede that I didn’t understand it at the time. In the intervening years, I haven’t seen or heard of this movement described in this way and I think it appropriate to ascribe the movement to Ferrigno.

Understanding Shoulder Mechanics

Many years later, as I was sitting in Extra-Spinal Biomechanics class, it hit me. To understand this, you need to observe the movement of the arm in relation to the torso. Break down the motion at the shoulder into its individual components. The upper arm (humerus) moves in a socket that, together, becomes the place where the arm meets the shoulder-blade (scapula). But that is only half of the shoulder. The shoulder blade plays a key role in movement as it shifts along the torso. When you shrug your shoulders, it elevates, contributing to the full arc of motion required to lift your hand overhead. This breakdown applies to movements like pressing overhead as well as reaching for something on the top shelf at the grocery store.

So, why does this mean anything? Well, for the fitness/weightlifting enthusiast this becomes a very useful insight. For the person with shoulder pain issues, understanding this can become the key to making unsuccessful care efforts successful.

The Ferrigno Shoulder Press

Lou Ferrigno had the biggest, most impressive shoulders of his day. All he needed was green paint, a wig and purple shorts to actually be The Incredible Hulk. No CGI here, folks. I’m sure this technique was part of his success. So, what is the Ferrigno Shoulder Press? Taking the upper arm from its neutral position, at your side, to a point just above horizontal is a movement which contracts the deltoid completely. The Ferrigno press hits the “sweet spot” in the traditional overhead press where you get a full engagement of the deltoid without most of the downside of overhead pressing. I can look back, myself, over the years and think of many people who prematurely ended their weightlifting days because they had destroyed their shoulders.

Risks of the traditional overhead press

The downside of the overhead press? The segment of the movement above the horizontal position finds the glenohumeral joint, the ball-in-socket, in full abduction/flexion the entire time. This portends injury to the sub-acromial bursae as well as prolonged isometric contraction to the deltoid. The hazards of prolonged isometric contraction are a subject for an entire discussion, but for our purposes, know that the deltoid is a muscle which finds itself engaged in many activities and very susceptible to overtraining and avoiding this segment of the movement is very much in the interest of mitigating the overtrained deltoid. In this same vein, the muscles of the neck and upper back are susceptible to overtraining. The Ferrigno Press allows for a shoulder workout while sparing muscles that get plenty of work in many other movements.

Muscle isolation and pre-exhaust techniques

This thinking is consistent with Pre-Exhaust techniques. It afford usefulness in isolating particular muscles as well as extricating muscles that need to be spared under a given circumstance. Athleticisms as well as vocations create situations where continuing to work or train through pain or injury are necessary. Many years ago, experts replaced muscle isolation with compound movements. ”Train movements, not muscles”; an innovation that was an improvement on the dogmatic muscle isolation of old-school bodybuilding. Since there are no movements that don’t require muscles, most athletes and training enthusiasts will eventually be forced to deal with individual muscles. Either by improving their performance or sparing them from injury while training/work continues. The Ferrigno Press is an excellent instance where such focused effort can be very rewarding.

Applying the Ferrigno press to everyday health

This movement is very helpful to the non-athlete with shoulder/neck/upper back pain. Understanding the Ferrigno Shoulder Press can be the beginning of finding clarity in the journey of regaining your health, wellness, and functionality. We all spend our entire lives in our bodies, lives that can be much better when we grasp a physical culture that finds us improved and empowered as stewards of our own frames. Having a conversation about this with your personal trainer, physical therapist or chiropractor is a good idea. Leave the frustration behind- get better and stay better!

Written by: Donaid Seals D.C

Dr. Seals is a practicing Doctor of Chiropractic with over 25 years of experience caring for people. His thinking is the product of his education, practice experience and many years in the natural foods and fitness industry. He has become living proof that old muscleheads don’t die-or fade away; sometimes they grow up to bring real-world expertise to the clinical picture. Traditional background information is available here.

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