Is Upright Row a good alternative to Overhead Press for people with rounded shoulders?

Question

I was yesterday night having fun with my two-years old daughter, doing Overhead Presses with an almost weightless aluminium tube, when I realized that my shoulders make cracking noises. I had never heard them in the gym, but now at home I can clearly hear them.

This might be partly because my shoulders are in worse shape than usual, since I am waiting for some light tendonitis to heal, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I have bad posture and slightly bent forward shoulders.

According to this answer here in another post:

The posture of the shoulder/scapula is important when doing exercises to strengthen the Rotator Cuff. If the shoulder is in the rounded position (from tight pecs or weak scapular muscles) it can put more strain on the RTC tendons, especially when raising the arms overhead. The cuff can become impinged between the acromion and the head of the humerus.

Additionally, according to this other text in a blog,

The deltoids are a multidirectional muscle with three distinct sections (heads) that move the arm in different directions. Overhead presses target the front and side. However, degree of involvement can be altered considerably with slight modifications and once again, balanced development is key. Generally speaking, most people are overdeveloped in front, which causes the upper arm to rotate inward and results in a postural deficiency characterized by rounded shoulders.

Would it be therefore a good idea to look for another basic, compound shoulder exercises that put less emphasis on the Front Delt, for people with rounded shoulders?

According to EXRX, Upright Row is a basic, compound exercise that mainly targets the Lateral Deltoid and not the front. And the list of synergistic muscles includes the Rotator Cuff: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus and Teres minor. As a comparison, see the Barbell Military Press that works mainly the Front Deltoid.

Therefore the question: is Upright Row a good alternative to Overhead Press for people with rounded shoulders? Why / why not? (within a program such as SS or SL5x5)

Answer 1

If you suspect you have a muscular imbalance in your shoulders, the better course of action is to attempt to correct the imbalance.

Look at the EXRX list of exercises for the posterior deltoid for exercises you can safely perform. This will help strengthen your shoulder girdle through the full range of motion.

If you are concerned for your shoulders, be careful how you perform upright rows. Upright rows with a barbell can "cause or aggravate shoulder impingement syndrome". This is confirmed in past and current literature.

Answer 2

I've found overhead presses to be a poor way to fix a programmer's hunch. Pulling exercises like barbell rows, deadlifts, and pull-ups have helped me much more in that regard.

Since any program for you should include both a push and a pull, you should probably omit the overhead press and use that time for mobility work instead.

Answer 3

From my personal experience, I have found that a correctly-performed overhead press (OHP) directly helped to correct my own shoulder impingement. I would agree upright rows are absolutely NOT a good alternative because if your shoulders are rounded you will not have the movement pattern or flexibility to achieve a technically correct upright row. Doing an incorrect upright row will exacerbate any current shoulder issue.

I think bad OHP form may be a contributing factor of shoulder impingement. I have found that an OHP, done with the proper form (as detailed here: https://stronglifts.com/overhead-press/), and beginning with an appropriate weight, will strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and all three shoulder muscle heads.

Two crucial parts of the OHP lift are at the top of the movement: 1) shrugging the shoulders and 2) locking the bar out above the shoulders. I had shoulder problems before I was correctly doing the shrug and lockout. Now that I'm getting better at these two components, my shoulder impingement is gone. I think this exercise can be beneficial even with a very light load because of the muscle activation achieved at the top of the movement.

Instead of adding assistance exercises for the shoulders I have found that using a foam roller for the thoracic area of the spine has helped immensely with my own rounded shoulder issue, as shown here: http://homegymr.com/foam-roller-exercises-for-thoracic-spine-mobilization/