On the Safety and Efficacy of Overhead Lifting

Question 1

Conjecture, Hypothesis, Theory, Law” in CrossFit

Answer 1

quatting is bad for the knees,” “lying down after a workout is dangerous to the heart,” “swimming shortly after eating causes drowning,” and “overhead lifts are bad for the shoulders” are all conjectures unsupported by data, untested by experimentation, and at odds with fact, yet each has at one time or another been offered as “common knowledge” in athletic communities.

Question 2

n contrast to the bench press, which is an inherently anterior-dominant movement

Answer 2

the press locks the weight out overhead to recruit all the musculature on both the front and back of the shoulder.

Question 3

. First, the anatomy of the shoulder lends itself best to pressing overhead when the

Answer 3

First, the anatomy of the shoulder lends itself best to pressing overhead when the trapezius is engaged at the top of the press. This is because the shoulder blades (the scapula, plural scapulae) support the weight overhead—because the arm bones—the humerus, ulna, and radius—articulate with the scapula, and line up under the load when the arms are locked out. This column of bones is held in place by the muscles of the arms and shoulders, and the weight is transferred down the arms to the scapulae, which hang from the spine by the trapezius muscles. These large muscles originate along the spine from the upper neck vertebrae all the way down to the upper part of the lower back. Their broad origin attaches to the spine of the scapula, the bony ridge along the top of this otherwise flat bone, clearly visible in figure 1 and figures 3c through 3e. What the arms support, either overhead or hanging from the shoulders, the trapezius supports. “Trap” strength is therefore an important component of shoulder stability.

Question 4

shrug of the shoulders

Answer 4

Support in this overhead position is best provided when the trapezius is actively contracted, producing a “shrug” of the shoulders as the load is locked out by the elbows.

Question 5

when shoulder shrug

Answer 5

he most lateral (away from the center of the body) aspect of the scapular spine is the acromion process, a bony protuberance that extends out over the top of the head of the humerus when the shoulder is relaxed (figures 3a and

Question 6

“shoulder impingement

Answer 6

muscles and other soft tissue structures between the head of the humerus and the acromion process.

Question 7

shoulder impingement prevention

Answer 7

prevented when the active trapezius contraction shifts the acromion process up and to the inside, maintaining good clearance between the humerus and the acromion process (figure 3e).

Question 8

The scapula is rotated up and out of the way by the trapezius contraction, and this rotation is made possible by the activity of th

Answer 8

serratus anterior. The serratus attaches to the medial (toward the center of the body) border of the scapula and wraps around the ribcage to attach in front at several places on the ribs under the chest muscles. It pulls the scapula forward around the ribcage; when the shoulder is shrugged forward, the serratus are working, and when the shoulder is shrugged either back or up, the trapezius is working.

Question 9

role of serrates and traps

Answer 9

The serratus anchors the lower aspect of the scapula so that when the traps pull the top of the bone upward and medial, the serratus pulls the bottom of the bone down and lateral, and the acromion process rotates back toward the neck, away from the humerus as it comes up overhead. This preserves the space between the humerus and acromion. The shrug at the top of the press and a strong serratus act together to avoid shoulder impingement in healthy shoulders.

Question 10

scaption plane

Answer 10

The scaption plane is functionally in the middle of pure abduction and pure flexion.

Question 11

overhead press

Answer 11

The exercise is self limiting and therefore not only safe but also diagnostic, in that it can shed light on a potential physical problem that can now be addressed—either medically or with simple movement cueing, depending on the individual situation—before it becomes chronic or mission critical.
ology that might potentially limit overhead capacity would also limit ability in rope climbs, push-ups, or pull-ups.

Question 12

load through legs

Answer 12

Second, the facilitation and use of hip and leg drive within the test dramatically unloads the shoulder, since the greatest impulse force during the movement is actually applied by the legs when the shoulder has yet to start to move the load overhead. Teaching lifters to use their legs to move even submaximal loads overhead actually safeguards them when they must handle maximal loads in real-life scenarios. F

Question 13

Genetics impingement,Primary impingement

Answer 13

Shape of the acromion

Question 14

Degenerative changes, Primary impingement

Answer 14

• Osteoarthritis
• Thickening of soft tissue

Question 15

Secondary impingement

Answer 15

Glenohumeral instability
- Excessive movement of the humerus in the glenoid (the ball in the socket) secondary to:
- Genetics (i.e., multiaxial instability)
- Compromised static stability (i.e., ligament laxity)
- Compromised dynamic stability (i.e., rotator cuff weakness or inhibition)
- Some combination of the above

Question 16

Scapulothoracic dyskinesia, or postural dysfunction

Answer 16

Compromised control/integration of movement of the shoulder blade on the posterior rib cage leading to a dysfunctional positioning of the shoulder

Question 17

t overhead pressing causes impingement,

Answer 17

that overhead pressing causes unfortunate genetics, degenerative changes, glenohumeral instability, scapulothoracic dyskinesia, or poor posture

Question 18

Overhead activities can, however, be a means of identifying individuals

Answer 18

latent shoulder impingement, since an existing impingement does not allow the activity to be completed without symptoms. In other words, if an individual completes an overhead exercise correctly with an appropriate load and has pain, the exercise has helped to identify the need to seek medical attention for an assessment of his or her upper quadrant in order to investigate ways to restore normal function.