Chuary | The Boxing PT 🥊

The Shoulder Deep Dive

Shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries in boxing due to the high impact, repetitive nature of the sport. The rapid, forceful punching motions, chaotic nature of the sport makes this joint susceptible to acute and chronic shoulder problems.

In this week's deep dive we'll cover:
​✅ Why the shoulder is the most injury-prone joint in boxing
✅ The 5 pillars of shoulder resilience
✅ A battle-tested training routine to keep your shoulders powerful, mobile & injury-free

The link between shoulder anatomy & injuries

To understand why the shoulder is so prone to injuries & how we can build combat ready shoulders, lets explore how shoulder anatomy contributes to injury risk in boxing.

The shoulder is a complex system of FOUR joints working together: 1️⃣ Glenohumeral Joint (GH) – The main ball-and-socket joint. Most mobile = most unstable ​ 2️⃣ Acromioclavicular Joint (AC) – The junction of the collarbone & shoulder blade. Handles impact & absorbs force. ​ 3️⃣ Sternoclavicular Joint (SC) – The only bony connection between the arm & the rest of the body. Transfers force from punches. ​ 4️⃣ Scapulothoracic Joint – The shoulder blade moving over the ribcage. Crucial for mobility & stability

The shoulder is the most mobile and dynamic joint in the human body . In throwing, punching and explosive athletic movements, it can generate peak rotation speeds over 7000 degrees per second.

To allow for this range of motion, the ball & socket joint of the arm and shoulder blade is very shallow (like a golf ball on a tee). The main issue with this? It relies on tendons, muscles and ligaments to provide strength and stability👇As the shoulder is a highly mobile but inherently unstable joint, the surrounding muscles ligaments & tendons are under constant stress when boxing.

3 Most common shoulder Injuries

1️⃣ Acute Dislocations

Dislocations occur when the humeral head is forced out of the glenoid cavity due to a high-impact punch or defensive movement. Boxers typically experience anterior shoulder dislocations resulting in chronic instability (Zeitler et al., 2021).
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2️⃣Acute Labral Tears:

Superior Labrum Anterior to Posterior (SLAP) lesions occur due to repetitive overhead punching, rapid deceleration, or direct trauma. They often accompany dislocations.

The damage to the cartilage inside the shoulder socket, reduces stability.

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3️⃣Rotator cuff related pain:

The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles that stabilizes the joint when boxing. The muscles work in concert to hold the joint in place during rapid acceleration and deceleration during impact when punching and resisting opponent pressure. Due to the inherent instability of the shoulder join, these muscles are under constant stress, making it prone to tendon issues, overuse and even tears.
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The 5 Pillars of Shoulder Resilience

If you want smooth, loose and snappy punches, your training MUST address these five areas. Through coaching, studying and fighting, I've devised a protocol to enhance mobility, strength, impact resilience, and injury prevention while aligning with evidence-based rehabilitation and performance guidelines.

1️⃣ Build Mobility & Control

As covered earlier, your ribs, spine, and shoulder blade all affect shoulder function. If they move like crap, so will your shoulder. Poor mobility in these areas increases injury risk and limits punching efficiency. These exercises promote joint mobility and control (Jung & Kim, 2021), furthermore thoracic spine mobility (aka upper back) is an essential component for shoulder mechanics (Whiting et al., 1988).

✅Standing Thoracic Circles ​

✅Wall supported Y raises ​ ​

📌 The Protocol: Do exercises like these 4 - 6 times a week, as part of your daily mobility or primer before training sessions. These exercises work well as a low intensity mobility sequence, and can help promote recovery, reduce stiffness & make sh*t feel good. Perform these exercises between 5 - 10 reps, in a slow controlled fashion.

2️⃣ Build Strength & Stability

Boxers require shoulder stability to withstand the high-impact forces of punches and prevent overuse injuries. Strength is the number 1 protective factor against overuse and injuries. Strength helps you handle the high loads & forces from fighting, Strength training It build robust muscles & tendons to support the joints.

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📌The protocol

3️⃣ Build Gymnastic Strength (Master Your Bodyweight)

Boxing requires explosive, bodyweight-controlled movements. Gymnastics-based training develop relative strength, control & joint resilience. In addition, gymnastic exercises challenges our body in unique & unconventional positions. This expands our movement repertoire and build strength in neglected positions. Given the unpredictable and chaotic nature of boxing, building strength in awkward, unconventional positions is a crucial aspect of reducing injury risk.

✅Front lever variations Scapular stability is vital for shoulder health and power transfer(Jung & Kim, 2021). ​

✅Single arm rows Improves rotator cuff endurance, reducing injury risk (Zeitler et al., 2021). ​

✅Muscle up variations Upper body strength + mobility ​

✅Wall handstand holds Shoulder mobility + wrist strength ​

📌 The Protocol: Include 1 - 2 gymnastics based exercises into your Strength & Conditioning routine. They can be your main horizontal/vertical, pushing/pulling progression. Aim for 6 - 12 reps, with control and good technique.

4️⃣ Build Power & Impact Resilience

Punches are high-speed, high-impact movements. If you can’t handle the forces, your shoulders will take a beating over time. Compared to the lower body, the smaller bones, tendons and ligaments are not as well built to handle forces. It is important to build these capacities in the gym to prepare us for the demands of the boxing.

✅ Upper body plyometrics (Explosive throws & catches)

Drop and Catch Curls ​

Drop and Catch Curls ​

Plank Iso Swtich ​

✅ Catch & release exercises (Rapid force absorption & redirection)

Drop and Catch Curls ​

Plate Catches ​

Drop & catch pullups ​

📌 The Protocol: Include these exercises at the start of your sessions. Start with 1 - 3 sets of 4 - 8 reps. Start slow and gradually build up tolerance. Resilience is built by compounding small, consistent efforts. Do not rush.

5️⃣ Armour Build the Surrounding Muscles

The neck, biceps, triceps & traps help distribute loads & stabilize the shoulder. The body operates as a unit, bolstering the surrounding structure reinforces shoulder strength and function.

✅ Neck Training

• Why? Reduces whiplash & shoulder instability risk(Jung & Kim, 2021). Furthermore, muscles which attach to the cervical spine also attach to the shoulder blades.
• Exercise: Neck Bridges – 3 sets of 20-sec holds

✅ Biceps Curls & Triceps Extensions

• Why? Enhances arm durability and reduces rotator cuff stress (Özkan et al., 2009). The biceps and triceps originate near the shoulders, and play an important role in decelerating punches and force absorption up the entire upper limb.

✅Trap Work (Shrugs, Carries, Holds)

• Why? Improves impact absorption and punch force transfer (Zeitler et al., 2021). Direct trap work is an essential component of armour building the upper body for contact, impact and repeated forces.

📌 The Protocol: 1 - 2 upper body exercises as part of a robustness circuit completed 1 - 3x a week. For robustness circuits work close to failure at high efforts and minimal rest.

🔥 Example Shoulder Resilience Routine

🔥 Example Shoulder Resilience Routine

1️⃣ Mobility & Control:

• Scapular CARS – 1 x 10 reps
• Shoulder YTWLS – 1 x 10 reps

2️⃣ Impact Resilience & Power:

• Med Ball Slams – 3x5 reps
• Catch & Release Rows – 3x6 reps

3️⃣ Strength & Gymnastic Exercises:

• Ring Push-Ups – 3x8-12 reps
• Weighted Pull-Ups – 3x6-10 reps

4️⃣ Armour Building:

• Bicep Curls & Tricep extensions superset – 2x to failure
• Heavy Zercher Carries 2 x 30s