What is the science behind shoulder packing?
http://wannabebig.com/training/the-five-biggest-contradictions-in-fitnes…
I thought this was a very interesting blog post about the position-stance of a group of trainers on shoulder packing and similar phenomena. What are your thoughts on end-range of motion techniques? Do you ever cue them for yoga or weightlifting(draw belly in, shoulders down and back, neck tucked)? Benefits for certain clients or useful for physical therapists?
to my understanding by doing shoulder packing your rotator cuff muscles are more protected, they are very thin fibers and when you do not pack and you are doing let say bench press there less to push against gravity, also your middle trapezius protects your spine by doing this little technique, to me it would be something very crucial to teach, the safer we are with ourselves and our clients the more we can exercise.
https://bretcontreras.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/guest-blog-shoulder-packi…
http://bretcontreras.com/when-coaching-cues-attack-packing-the-shoulder/
http://www.dragondoor.com/shoulder_packing_101/
These articles really dig deep into shoulder packing and caution against how it should be cued. Shoulder packing does not immobilize the scapulae down and back but rather controls it so that other muscles do not dominate the movement. When the scapulae are in control and time-synchronized with the upper back muscles, the humerus is more stabilized in the glenoid cavity.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/shoulder-packing/
Scooby suggests doing shoulder packing for chest exercises improves the angle and leverage for a stronger lift.
I have learned a lot from these few articles; mainly that shoulder packing is a dynamic movement and focusing on it to the point of movement restriction can create its own problems.
However I still would like to see a double blind study of different shoulder packing approaches.
http://www.strongfirst.com/topic/when-to-not-shoulder-pack/
As with everything there is an extreme: how much packing is too much packing? In other words what happens if you constantly practice a down and back posture? My fear is that mobility will be less functional if we use shoulder packing as a default posture even when we are not lifting loads, and the muscles that hold the scapulae in place will become tight and sore. For this reason I would suggest adding some exercises that allow you to safely relax or elevate the scapulae. Do you agree or disagree?
i will read on the articles posted, yes, it is not good to do shoulder packing on some exercises but should be done on exercises such as chest press and on deadlifts, if you try doing it on these exercises you will notice a big difference.
I learned about shoulder packing from my mentor and did more research and trials, my mentor have over 4 decades as a professional competitor.
yet sometimes it is best to try doing shoulder packing on some exercises so you understand where it would be a good thing and where it wouldn’t be convenient.