Introduction

Overview of Module

In this module, we cover horizontal pushing, common areas of pain, modifications, and accessory work.

Horizontal pushing is primarily seen in the following lifts:

• Bench press (and its variants)
• Push ups
• Ring dips
• Standard dips
• Burpees

The most common area that people have pain with horizontal pushing is either the front of the shoulder, or less commonly, the back of the shoulder (compare that to vertical pushing, which is more commonly the top of the shoulder).

With horizontal pushing and shoulder pain, a great start point is to try modifying the variables of the lifts.

The variables to consider during horizontal pushing include:

• Weight
• Rep scheme
• Range of motion
• Apparatus (barbell vs dumbbell)
• Hand position (neutral grip dumbbell vs overhand barbell // wide grip bench vs narrow grip bench // etc)
• Angles (incline bench vs flat bench // wall push up vs standard push up)

There can also be positional issues related to horizontal pushing that may need to be addressed by working on thoracic spine mobility or pec/lat stretching.

As always, it’s critical to note that if rest is needed, then rest. However, modifications of lifting is rest in certain ways to certain areas.

From this module, we want you to take away the following:

• The importance of tweaking variables
• Which variables to modify
• How to change slight angles and shoulder positions
• Which accessory drills to use when athletes want to ‘work on extra stuff’
• The mechanics and anatomy likely causing issues during this lifting pattern

With all that said, let’s get into it!