Is the upright row bad?

[Fsu4lifeman]

I recently read an article claiming that the upright row is one of the worst exercises for your shoulders.
I always do upright rows with a wide grip and pull up until my arm is parallel with the ground.
What are the opinions you guys and girls have on this? Should I continue or stop doing upright rows?

[supramax]

Barbell=BAD...Dumbbells=GOOD...

Go to YouTube and search: "ATHLEAN-X-The WORST Shoulder Exercise for Bigger Shoulders - STOP!!"

[Brynden]

It depends on the anatomy of your shoulder.

Wide grip and row till nipples seems ok and if you can do it without any strain or pain I would stick to it and perform it in a controled and safe manner.

[VoxExMachina]

Neither BB nor DB upright rows have ever bothered my shoulders, but some people have an issue with them. If they don't bother yours, then use them at will. If they do, then substitute other exercises.

[Fsu4lifeman]

Yeah they don't bother my shoulders at all. I tried dumbbell and it did bother my shoulder but with barbell it's fine.
Thanks for the input too.

[Human Rocket]

Honestly upright rows seems to be harder on my wrists than my shoulders. Maybe my form isn't good. I dunno.

[jgreystoke]

Oh no! It's the EXERCISE POLICE!

Upright row is not one of the big basic barbell movements like squat, bench/incline, row, dead, press, clean, curl.

But is a great assistance movement, best done for high to very high reps, just like other assistance exercises that hit shoulders and traps....... like shrugs.

If you insist on using a weight that is too heavy for you, with terrible form, and insist on trying to pull the bar up to your chin with your elbows up in the air, then you must raise your little finger when drinking. Like you were having tea with the Queen.

You would never lift anything heavy like that in the workshop, garden etc. If you did upright something, your elbows would be well back and your upper arm would not rise above parallel with the ground. You would not upright row anything heavy as high as the chin.

I do Trap Bar upright rows. And they are great for my trashed shoulders. You can't possibly pull too high if you use a trap bar, and your shoulders(and traps) get strong without getting traumatized.

If you do them right, and they don't hurt your joints, then pull away to your heart's content.

[thefleshlight]

People do these still? lulz

[Fsu4lifeman]

Honestly upright rows seems to be harder on my wrists than my shoulders. Maybe my form isn't good. I dunno.

You could try using a false grip. That could help with the wrists.

I'm pretty sure I got the form down and nothing hurts or feels wrong when I do them but if it is bad on your shoulders then I want to know. Because shoulders are pretty much involved in every upper body workout unless your isolating. I'm going into the marines and I can't afford to injure my shoulder.

[Fsu4lifeman]

Oh no! It's the EXERCISE POLICE!

Upright row is not one of the big basic barbell movements like squat, bench/incline, row, dead, press, clean, curl.

But is a great assistance movement, best done for high to very high reps, just like other assistance exercises that hit shoulders and traps....... like shrugs.

If you insist on using a weight that is too heavy for you, with terrible form, and insist on trying to pull the bar up to your chin with your elbows up in the air, then you must raise your little finger when drinking. Like you were having tea with the Queen.

You would never lift anything heavy like that in the workshop, garden etc. If you did upright something, your elbows would be well back and your upper arm would not rise above parallel with the ground. You would not upright row anything heavy as high as the chin.

I do Trap Bar upright rows. And they are great for my trashed shoulders. You can't possibly pull too high if you use a trap bar, and your shoulders(and traps) get strong without getting traumatized.

If you do them right, and they don't hurt your joints, then pull away to your heart's content.

Thank you for the great reply. With only one post saying don't do them I'm going to continue. And as you said keep the weight lower and the reps higher.

[HammZ]

Oh no! It's the EXERCISE POLICE!

Upright row is not one of the big basic barbell movements like squat, bench/incline, row, dead, press, clean, curl.

But is a great assistance movement, best done for high to very high reps, just like other assistance exercises that hit shoulders and traps....... like shrugs.

If you insist on using a weight that is too heavy for you, with terrible form, and insist on trying to pull the bar up to your chin with your elbows up in the air, then you must raise your little finger when drinking. Like you were having tea with the Queen.

You would never lift anything heavy like that in the workshop, garden etc. If you did upright something, your elbows would be well back and your upper arm would not rise above parallel with the ground. You would not upright row anything heavy as high as the chin.

I do Trap Bar upright rows. And they are great for my trashed shoulders. You can't possibly pull too high if you use a trap bar, and your shoulders(and traps) get strong without getting traumatized.

If you do them right, and they don't hurt your joints, then pull away to your heart's content.

This x1000. They have the potential to be very damaging to your shoulders, but so do many exercises.

[Taycro]

Honestly upright rows seems to be harder on my wrists than my shoulders. Maybe my form isn't good. I dunno.

This. When I first started lifting I did them.. Started to bother my wrists by the 2nd/3rd set, so I cut them out of my routine

[229time]

They are a shoulder killer for many. Then again many other exercises are no no's for many.

They have never caused an injury or given me any discomfort. I've done all of the so called shoulder killers and fortunately have been blessed and never had a problem.

[CookAndrewB]

I really don't know of any exercise that is 100% bad/ineffective, nor do I know of any that are 100% a good idea for everyone. The human body has an incredible amount of variation, and some people just aren't built to handle repetitive stress under load in specific movement paths. For me, the quickest way to trash my shoulder is to do a lot of incline benching. Not sure why, just know it causes discomfort from rep one and never gets better. I can OHP and flat bench without any issue. In fact, I can OHP behind the neck without any issues, though I don't because I think there are better ways to skin that cat.

Point being: squats don't = trashed knees. Running doesn't = trashed knees. Upright rows don't = trashed shoulders. Abdominal crunches don't = trashed spine... You assume some risk by entering the weight room at all. Smart people mitigate bad risk and count on the benefits outweighing the drawbacks. This is why common sense guidance like "Stop a set when your form starts to break down" or "If it hurts, don't do it" tends to do well; while the chicken little "exercise X will cause your penis to fall off! Never do it again!" crap is usually aimed more at selling you on the idea that Guru No-name is a genius. Its hard to make money off of common sense.