Rotator cuff exercises

[dos]

Bill and others,

I have been using a sequence of pre-workout exercises with all my overhead athletes (softball, baseball, volleyball, track throwers -javelin ,and QB's). It is a morph of the Indiana 'swimmer six' and some other tips I got from a PT I worked with a few years back.

Goes something like this:
10-15 reps x 1 set of each of the following followed by our normal workout....
(DB exercises)
1. lateral raises - thumbs up (scapular plane...I know, i know, I may catch doo-doo for using that term!)
2. Empty cans - same plane
3. Bent over skiers...straight back (shoulder extension)
4. bent over flyes...out to side (abduction)

(Tubing)
5. External rotation
(other)
6. Push-up plus on the ground or on a bench (scapular protraction)

Here's my question to you guys...some Mel Siff disciple who is in my area came by and saw my athletes performing these lifts and decided to go the supertraining group and pummel me for "isolating" muscle groups. I have since recovered from Mel's tirade and continue to use the exercises.

Anyone who has seen any of my programs knows that I am not the "isolating" type of guy! I also understand that many of my lifts address the rotator cuff muscle group in one way or another. I just don't see it as being the same to say that a snatch will fully address what these muscles actually DO (espeically when it comes to external rotation).

Bill, am I wasting my time by using these exercises at all? (at my age) I like to think that my shoulders feel more "ready" for overhead movements etc. after I do some of these warm-up exercises (which is primarily what i use them for)I noticed that you had some "pre-hab "shoulder stuff in your sample vball workout.

Let's hear it folks! [img]tongue.gif[/img]