[T_B]

Alison Macfarlane at Hallamshire Physio is supposed to be very good for climbing injuries. The only problem is it's difficult to get an appointment with her. I've seen the other author of that leaflet - Steve Hodgson - about my back and torn hamstring. He was good for these, but I've seen other people about elbows 

[tomtom]

Yep that's it except my physio had me doing them one armed but kneeling rather than in the plank position.  They were quite tricky and really exposed the fact that I'd been overcompensating with the main shoulder and arm muscles.

Just been trying those shoulder-pushups and like you, I seem to have an obvious deficiency! My shoulder blades seem to "wing" a lot, which kinda points towards a serratus anterior weakness which I'm going to start trying to work on and get sorted before I get back climbing.

I tried these last night and managed 10 a side one armed no probs..  not boasting, just was interested... (and I'm puny..)

[Fultonius]

I don't think it's so much about general strength. (I'm not particularly strong either, can do about 25 normal press-ups but never do more than bodyweight so I probably can't bench press very much)

I think it's more to do with not engaging the smaller stabilising muscles properly (like many of the wise people earlier have said). I can "do" these "shouler press-ups" but I can feel my shoulder blades elevating and rotating into a position that doesn't feel "right". 

If I do the "wall test" for winging scapulas (google it if you need more info) my scapulas wing a lot if I don't actively engage the stabilisers. When I try the shoulder-press-up, I don't seem to be able to engage the scap stabilisers in the same way, so my blades wing. Google seems to point towards weak serratus anterior, so I'll try and isolate these and build them up gently. Well, that's the theory anyway...

The fact that I can engage the stabilisers seems to point to weakness, rather than any form of injury or nerve issue.

P.S. none of my shoulder instabilities were affecting my climbing or day-to-day life so I'm definitely not at the physio stage, and I'm Glasgow based, so sheffield's a bit out the way anyway...  Although, thinking about it, I guess I could maybe get my NHS physio who's fixing my knee to have a look next time I'm in.

[account_inactive]

 
If I do the "wall test" for winging scapulas (google it if you need more info) my scapulas wing a lot if I don't actively engage the stabilisers. When I try the shoulder-press-up, I don't seem to be able to engage the scap stabilisers in the same way, so my blades wing. Google seems to point towards weak serratus anterior, so I'll try and isolate these and build them up gently. Well, that's the theory anyway...

Sausage and Huffy have been banging on about this for ages.  Recruitment exercises followed by theraband and only then heavier loads.  Any exercises that can't be controlled by the stabilisers rely on base large muscles creating imbalance and incorrect technique.

[Barratt]

After a AC/related connective tissue injury I had many physio sessions, i came away with the following rehab exercises.

1) Lateral raises, 10 x 3 with a weight that doesn't hurt, ie low
2) Front raises, 10 x 3 with a weight that doesn't hurt, ie low
3) Difficult to describe: Arms out to your side at shoulder height, elbow bent to 90 degrees (vertical pointing to floor). Raise hands through 90° by rotating the shoulder (back to vertical pointing to ceiling). 10 x 3 with a weight that doesn't hurt, ie low
4) Standing, draw big imaginary circles on the floor with a weight in your hand, going from small to big circles. 10 x 3 with a weight that doesn't hurt, ie low

I started doing these with a 1kg weight and then moved up to 2kg. I do these as a super set and have since doubled the amount of reps, so 20 x 3 for all. The killer is without doubt number 3! At present, 2kg is probably a bit too much weight.

Sorry for the descriptions 

[Fultonius]

I've seen a video of #3 and know what you mean - been trying, and failing, to google it to find out which muscles it's meant to work.

Oh, stop press, finally found it!  Do you mean this: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Infraspinatus/DBUprightExternalRotation.html might add that to my list...

I guess another important thing is to remember to maintain good posture when doing these exercises.[he says, while stooped over the keyboard]

[douglas]

I guess another important thing is to remember to maintain good posture when doing these exercises.[he says, while stooped over the keyboard]

Stand up straight and set your shoulder blades by moving the bottom tip of the scaplua towards the opposite bum cheek. Also do the movements slowly and try not to let larger muscles like delts or lats to the work.

[Barratt]

Yeah that's the one, though i'm doing both arms at the same time.

I find them very, very hard even with 2kg. I think it would be best for me to drop to 1kg to avoid using larger muscles.