Upper Body Training: The Push & Pull Partnership
If you’re going to push, you have to pull! Developing upper body strength to prepare for the demand in sport is vital for overall athletic improvement. Strength skyrockets when you train your body with symmetry.
With upper body exercises, you need to address both pushing (anterior) and pulling (posterior). Pushing and pulling lifts work hand in hand when strength training. Neglecting the posterior upper body muscles can increase the risk of soft tissue and ligament injuries in the shoulder, thoracic spine, and even elbow.
This is especially true for overhead sports athletes. Think about the number of Tommy John surgeries you hear about annually. This is due to injury of the ulnar collateral ligament. Being sure to incorporate both pushing and pulling exercises can promote shoulder stability and strengthen muscles around the joint, and in return, this helps reduce the likelihood of overuse injuries.
We all know that Bench Press Day is everyone’s favorite. If you don’t believe me, just go to your local gym at 6 pm. Don’t get me wrong, the bench press is a foundational lift. However, if you are not considering the volumes and intensities that match your posterior lifts, you will not get optimal results.
How do we make sure we don’t do that? Look at what type of presses and pulls you’re doing on that particular day. Presses and pulls can be categorized as horizontal or vertical, and additional variations include unilateral (ex. Single Arm) or bilateral (ex Both Arms) lifts. Variation allows the body to strengthen through different movement patterns and increases general physical preparation.
Here are some examples of horizontal and vertical push pull exercises along with unilateral and bilateral ones as well.
Horizontal Press: Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Single Arm Landmine Press, Push Up Horizontal Pull: Barbell Bent over Row, Single Arm Dumbbell Row, Inverted Row.
Vertical Press: Seated Z Press, Single Arm overhead press, Push Pres Vertical Pull: Pull-ups, Seated Pulldowns, Banded Single Arm Pull down
Check out our Performance Course YouTube page playlist for more upper body exercises.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: Let’s say you have programmed a barbell bench press. On this day, you have heavy intensities of 70% of your 1-rep-max and higher for 5–7 sets. With this, throw in a big posterior lift that matches the angle.
Barbell bench press is a horizontal press, so matching it with a horizontal pull is a great option. One example could be a barbell bent over row. While you may not be able to lift as much as you do on barbell bench press, you can create symmetry by adding additional repetitions to the pull exercise.
You can plug in sets of 8 repetitions on the pulling exercise to match the total weight lifted. This is also a great place to layer in shoulder cuff muscle exercises. Examples of this include a banded face pull or using light plates for chest-supported Y-Raise. These types of accessory lifts will enhance the resilience of the upper body.
As discussed above, we want to promote balance on muscle development so there is no dysfunction. The best ability is availability, so we want our athletes to be strong, confident, and injury-free while playing the sports they love. Check out our socials and Performance Course YouTube channel for more awesome content.
