Do your shoulders hurt when you exercise? Maybe you are making this mistake!

Lee Priest shares his insight on how to avoid shoulder injuries, a common problem for many gym-goers. His advice is simple but effective: start your shoulder training with exercises for the rear delts.

The problem with imbalance

Many people suffer from pain and soreness in their shoulders because their anterior delts are overworked and are much stronger than their posterior delts. This causes the shoulders to pull forward, leading to discomfort and potential injury during compression exercises such as the bench press.

Priest's solution: focus on the rear delts first

Priest stresses that by strengthening the rear delts at the beginning of your workout, you're helping your shoulders get into a more stable and natural position. By strengthening the rear delts first, you ensure that they are not neglected, which often happens when you exercise at the end of a workout when you are already tired.

Why is this important?

The anterior and lateral delts receive a lot of stimulation during other exercises as well, so they tend to develop faster. Neglecting the posterior delts leads to imbalances, which are the main cause of shoulder problems.

Priest himself regrets not knowing this information when he was younger. He says that if he could turn back time, he would always start his chest and shoulder workouts with back delta exercises to better protect his body and prevent injuries.

Image source: e3chiropractic.com