Here’s a way to decrease the stress on your shoulders during presses.

Next time you’re in the gym, take a look at how people do presses. I bet most of them are using a pronated (palms forward) grip with their elbows flaring way out. That can put a lot of stress on the shoulders and lead to problems down the road.

Doing presses with a neutral grip where the palms are facing each other and the elbows tucked in slightly is a much healthier option for your shoulders. You can use a Swiss bar, log or dumbbells.

In the video, I’m performing presses with the bench set at an incline of 70 degrees. Again, look around the gym. Most people are doing presses on a flat, 45-degree, or 90-degree bench. Doing the same grip and angle over and over for a long period of time can cause pattern overload and lead to injury, Changing the grip and bench angle slightly on a regular basis is not only beneficial for muscular growth but can also help prevent injury. I discuss it further in my webinar Injury Prevention Strategies for Aging Athletes.