Good muscular balance of the upper body, a great way to prevent injuries by Mathieu Roy

Today I want to write about an important concept in training that I think is misunderstood by many people. We regularly hear about the importance of keeping a balance between "chest and back" to maintain a good posture and a proper balance in the shoulder. I see regularly programs with an antagonist superset containing bench press and lat pull down. The latissimus dorsi muscle, mostly involved in a pull down, is an internal rotator of the shoulder just like the pectorals. Therefore, it is incorrect to use it as an antagonist movement of the bench press. We should rather use a Seated row to the chest or a Bent over row to the chest. In fact, these exercises work out mostly the rhomboids, the deltoids posterior and the middle trapezius. Regarding that the lat pull down, you can include this exercise in an antagonist superset with DB seated press. I recommand to use a neutral grip to put less stress on the shoulder.

It is very important to consider this concept with a ball player, especially if you're a pitcher. In your training, if you work out more your internal rotators compare to your external rotators, you greatly increase your risk of injury. In addition, the major internal rotator muscles of the shoulder are the pectorals, latissimus dorsi and teres major. Those muscles are normally stronger than the external rotators of the shoulder, the supraspinatus, the infraspinatus and the teres minor. Thus, if you only work out your internal rotators, you could create a muscle imbalance that leads to poor posture. Moreover, poor posture increases the risk of shoulder injury.

To prevent injury to the shoulder, I recommend adding an exercise in external rotation of the shoulder and an exercise of lower trapezius, a stabilizer of the scapula and often a muscle too weak in people who train in a gym.

Here is what a program may look like for a beginner who follows this concept:

DB press + DB bent over row to the chest Fly with DB + Reverse fly with DB Lat. Pull down + Seated DB press with neutral grip Cable arms adduction + Cable lateral raises

3 sets of 8-10 repetitions for each exercise with 90 seconds of rest between sets.

Cable external rotation + Y elevation back to the wall

2 sets of 12-15 repetitions with 60 seconds rest between sets.