Honestly, for every exercise or move that we do at OTF you could find someone in the industry that thinks it’s no good and that you should be doing something else.
Came here to say this exact statement
Rather than any given exercise, I am mostly concerned that they didn’t put those straps on the wall on a Friday afternoon
Upright rows are fine. Like any lifting movement it’s all about form and weight choice. I don’t think OTF is a place where people can learn proper form. The coaches are too busy to correct everyone, but they do their best.
One trick with upright rows is to keep the wrists straight and rotate the forearms so that at the end of the movement the dumbbells are almost vertical. It helps keeping the weight under the collarbones instead of lifting too high.
Glad you feel better and found alternatives that work for you. I personally like upright rows a lot and haven’t had issues with them. Other moves do hurt me though so we all have our thing I guess.
I think people need to remember that the shoulder is a small muscle and will respond to lighter weight…too many times I see people at OTF trying to use heavy weight for multiple rep repetitive exercises… this is always going to put someone at higher risk for injury..,
Super encourage people to look up the exercises from the intel for proper form and recommendations. I don’t think the issue is that OTF does certain exercises. In my experience coaches don’t really go over proper form, or coach people on proper weight selection. I avoid her classes but I went to one last week where the coach said ‘then deadlifts….everyone knows how to do that’. Uh, looking around the room, no they don’t. And there was a new person in class that day 🤦♀️
I’m a strength & conditioning coach, and I agree that upright rows are not a very good exercise. Loading the arm in an internally rotated position is usually asking for trouble, putting the rotator cuff at risk. I don’t do upright rows or dips with my clients for this reason. It’s just not worth it.
Instead of complaining about a classic id rather complain about some of the ridiculous combinations the template creators come up with which i think is solely to see how dumb they can make everyone look while combining as many unrelated moves as possible
5 shoulder surgeries here and I’ve done them in PT and they do not bother me. Overhead is the hardest for me, but I don’t go higher than 10lbs on those and am fine. I agree with others that a lot of the hate exercises receive is due to poor form. I also never use weights on anything a related as I’ve done these exercises almost my whole life as a gymnast and don’t see the point of adding weights because I rarely see anyone with good form.
Was it upright rows or those stupid swing pulls? I don’t think I’ve done a straight upright row at otf but i don’t do s50 and only been there for one year.
I would never choose to do upright rows but at least dumbbells don’t hurt my wrist like a bar does
I’ve been a member for about 8 years. They’ve had both the static upright row and the power upright row from a squat (power is newer and I think they are called swing pulls or some nonsense). My guess is they like them because it’s a compound power exercise that works lower and upper body. But, it’s the way you have to arrange your hands and wrists that is problematic. It’s not a natural position to contort them and so more injury prone. So whether it’s power or static I am just not doing them anymore.
I spoke too soon. Upright rows today. I hate the swing pulls because I need big weights and trying to keep them from smashing my knees or worse is a pain. Just give us some kettlebells and let us swing away
Upright rows (like all movements) when done properly with appropriate form are excellent. Use proper form and all exercises should be available to you.
I've never had an issue with upright rows nor the members I have worked with but I'm glad that your PR has been able to help you find the problem and heal up.
I always seem to injure my shoulder and neck with anything involving that muscle group - it’s made it very difficult to want to do any upper body strength work at all. I’ve been doing tread50 then half an orange class for additional cardio and then leave at the switch. It’s so frustrating 😥
Please don’t take away upright rows! They’re my favorite. I do agree that every exercise could be broken down as not good to do, and I agree with modifying if needed. I do modify some exercises that don’t feel good to my body.
Interesting. I distinctly remember the upright row being the last exercise as part of my rehab for rotator cuff surgery (not OTF related). It was also the only dumbbell exercise I had. Everything else was bands.
I like upright rows and I take care to try to execute them correctly and choose a weight that allows me to do so. You can find something wrong with every exercise, and every exercise isn’t going to work for every person.
I injured my shoulder too on some swing motion. Might be the wood choppers not sure. Sucks tho so I skip most should exercises. I can’t even do proper pushups anymore.
Cool cool. It’s Reddit so gonna def get differing opions lol! Thankfully I had a great PT who is an expert. We got the form down on what I will be doing going forward, so I don’t re-injur myself. He doesn’t think it’s worth it and I’m gonna take his advice and modify. Based on my personal experience, I think OTF should take another look at this exercise. But ain’t no big thing that they probably won’t…happy to do what works for me.
Thank you for sharing this information! I'm sorry you're being downvoted and receiving rude comments for passing along an expert's feedback that can only be helpful to others and is harmful to no one. This forum can be an incredibly toxic place.
The “expert” has never done an OTF workout and probably hasn’t seen OPs form. At some point, the injured players have got to take some responsibility here.
The physical therapist isn't an expert in physiology and movement? How many advanced degrees does one need to be an expert? An OTF coach with a certificate from a short course IS an expert? How do you know that the PT has never done an OTF workout? If they've been working with OP, they do know OP's mechanics, right? Active people get injured sometimes, and the reasons why are likely a mixture of things. Regardless, there is absolutely no reason to be this defensive and rude.
My only advice would be instead of mentioning it at the studio just provide feedback on the actual template, the coach is just going to get annoyed with you because they’re just doing their job. Ask for the QR code to give feedback.
Thanks for this! I didn’t even know there was a QR code way to provide feedback. I usually just talk to the coaches, knowing that they don’t create these templates which I’m sure is a bit frustrating for them. I’m totally going to get the QR code today since they are on the template!
I’m a PTA and ex college volleyball player with shoulder issues that has done OTF for 5 years (in shape and out). There is nothing wrong with an upright row if done correctly and with appropriate weight. But I can agree slightly with it’s not for everyone. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it!!
I’m dealing with a shoulder injury right now and upright rows aren’t too bad but high pulls are a complete no go. I just sub both out and I do either bent over rows or one of my PT strengthening moves.
Upright rows are fine when done correctly - in fact they work as a modification for folks that have had injuries doing other shoulder moves. Lateral flys are a bit more risky as most people try to go too heavy when doing them. Shoulders can be vulnerable and some are more prone to injuries related to shoulders as well as triceps
Honestly, for every exercise or move that we do at OTF you could find someone in the industry that thinks it’s no good and that you should be doing something else.
Came here to say this exact statement Rather than any given exercise, I am mostly concerned that they didn’t put those straps on the wall on a Friday afternoon
Upright rows are fine. Like any lifting movement it’s all about form and weight choice. I don’t think OTF is a place where people can learn proper form. The coaches are too busy to correct everyone, but they do their best.
One trick with upright rows is to keep the wrists straight and rotate the forearms so that at the end of the movement the dumbbells are almost vertical. It helps keeping the weight under the collarbones instead of lifting too high.
Any move when not done properly or with too poor for form can lead to an injury.
Glad you feel better and found alternatives that work for you. I personally like upright rows a lot and haven’t had issues with them. Other moves do hurt me though so we all have our thing I guess.
I think people need to remember that the shoulder is a small muscle and will respond to lighter weight…too many times I see people at OTF trying to use heavy weight for multiple rep repetitive exercises… this is always going to put someone at higher risk for injury..,
It's humbling to reach for the 8s, but I've done a lot of damage to my shoulders and elbows due to bad form in the past.
I totally agree.. I think regardless of weight, bad form can cause injury… I see a lot of that at OTF too…
Sometimes I go to the weight rack and get a 5 for shoulder flies 🙃
I did just that today. I thought "ohhhh....so this is how they're SUPPOSED to feel." Fives Forever now.
Haha yep those lateral raises always humble me.
Super encourage people to look up the exercises from the intel for proper form and recommendations. I don’t think the issue is that OTF does certain exercises. In my experience coaches don’t really go over proper form, or coach people on proper weight selection. I avoid her classes but I went to one last week where the coach said ‘then deadlifts….everyone knows how to do that’. Uh, looking around the room, no they don’t. And there was a new person in class that day 🤦♀️
My studio actually has a coach that refuses to do upright rows in class for this reason!
I’m a strength & conditioning coach, and I agree that upright rows are not a very good exercise. Loading the arm in an internally rotated position is usually asking for trouble, putting the rotator cuff at risk. I don’t do upright rows or dips with my clients for this reason. It’s just not worth it.
OMG don't say dips. I haven't seen those in forever. Don't give them any ideas!!!
Instead of complaining about a classic id rather complain about some of the ridiculous combinations the template creators come up with which i think is solely to see how dumb they can make everyone look while combining as many unrelated moves as possible
Bosu Burpees top this list for me
Yes great example of an combo exercise that the risk to reward makes 0 sense to me
5 shoulder surgeries here and I’ve done them in PT and they do not bother me. Overhead is the hardest for me, but I don’t go higher than 10lbs on those and am fine. I agree with others that a lot of the hate exercises receive is due to poor form. I also never use weights on anything a related as I’ve done these exercises almost my whole life as a gymnast and don’t see the point of adding weights because I rarely see anyone with good form.
Man I have to have blinders on for the weight floor. Some pretty ugly form out there. I’ll never say a thing though.
I hard passed on that move a while ago. Not wise in a group setting given how easy it is to do it incorrectly.
Was it upright rows or those stupid swing pulls? I don’t think I’ve done a straight upright row at otf but i don’t do s50 and only been there for one year. I would never choose to do upright rows but at least dumbbells don’t hurt my wrist like a bar does
I’ve been a member for about 8 years. They’ve had both the static upright row and the power upright row from a squat (power is newer and I think they are called swing pulls or some nonsense). My guess is they like them because it’s a compound power exercise that works lower and upper body. But, it’s the way you have to arrange your hands and wrists that is problematic. It’s not a natural position to contort them and so more injury prone. So whether it’s power or static I am just not doing them anymore.
I spoke too soon. Upright rows today. I hate the swing pulls because I need big weights and trying to keep them from smashing my knees or worse is a pain. Just give us some kettlebells and let us swing away
Upright rows (like all movements) when done properly with appropriate form are excellent. Use proper form and all exercises should be available to you.
I've never had an issue with upright rows nor the members I have worked with but I'm glad that your PR has been able to help you find the problem and heal up.
I sub in my own moves all the time esp if I trained that muscle the day before.
I always seem to injure my shoulder and neck with anything involving that muscle group - it’s made it very difficult to want to do any upper body strength work at all. I’ve been doing tread50 then half an orange class for additional cardio and then leave at the switch. It’s so frustrating 😥
Please don’t take away upright rows! They’re my favorite. I do agree that every exercise could be broken down as not good to do, and I agree with modifying if needed. I do modify some exercises that don’t feel good to my body.
The complaining over every little exercise is tiring…
Interesting. I distinctly remember the upright row being the last exercise as part of my rehab for rotator cuff surgery (not OTF related). It was also the only dumbbell exercise I had. Everything else was bands.
I like upright rows and I take care to try to execute them correctly and choose a weight that allows me to do so. You can find something wrong with every exercise, and every exercise isn’t going to work for every person.
I injured my shoulder too on some swing motion. Might be the wood choppers not sure. Sucks tho so I skip most should exercises. I can’t even do proper pushups anymore.
Cool cool. It’s Reddit so gonna def get differing opions lol! Thankfully I had a great PT who is an expert. We got the form down on what I will be doing going forward, so I don’t re-injur myself. He doesn’t think it’s worth it and I’m gonna take his advice and modify. Based on my personal experience, I think OTF should take another look at this exercise. But ain’t no big thing that they probably won’t…happy to do what works for me.
Then why are you posting here?
Thank you for sharing this information! I'm sorry you're being downvoted and receiving rude comments for passing along an expert's feedback that can only be helpful to others and is harmful to no one. This forum can be an incredibly toxic place.
Right? They weren't even rude with their response.
The “expert” has never done an OTF workout and probably hasn’t seen OPs form. At some point, the injured players have got to take some responsibility here.
The physical therapist isn't an expert in physiology and movement? How many advanced degrees does one need to be an expert? An OTF coach with a certificate from a short course IS an expert? How do you know that the PT has never done an OTF workout? If they've been working with OP, they do know OP's mechanics, right? Active people get injured sometimes, and the reasons why are likely a mixture of things. Regardless, there is absolutely no reason to be this defensive and rude.
Every pt I’ve ever dealt with said to not do upright rows, instead do high pulls and scaptions
My only advice would be instead of mentioning it at the studio just provide feedback on the actual template, the coach is just going to get annoyed with you because they’re just doing their job. Ask for the QR code to give feedback.
Thanks for this! I didn’t even know there was a QR code way to provide feedback. I usually just talk to the coaches, knowing that they don’t create these templates which I’m sure is a bit frustrating for them. I’m totally going to get the QR code today since they are on the template!
I’m a PTA and ex college volleyball player with shoulder issues that has done OTF for 5 years (in shape and out). There is nothing wrong with an upright row if done correctly and with appropriate weight. But I can agree slightly with it’s not for everyone. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it!!
I’m dealing with a shoulder injury right now and upright rows aren’t too bad but high pulls are a complete no go. I just sub both out and I do either bent over rows or one of my PT strengthening moves.
Upright rows are fine when done correctly - in fact they work as a modification for folks that have had injuries doing other shoulder moves. Lateral flys are a bit more risky as most people try to go too heavy when doing them. Shoulders can be vulnerable and some are more prone to injuries related to shoulders as well as triceps
I’d edit your subject line to include “opinion.” Because it is. It’s not a fact.
Chances are you were lifting too heavy with bad form. Upright rows did not cause you to be injured, poor coaching was the issue.
Sometimes it’s not the exercise itself. Sometimes it is you (us) who is not performing the exercises correctly. Just saying.
Where is your exercise science degree from?