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When shoulder pressing with a barbell and your hand position is wide when you come down low it stresses the rotator. to use full range you would have to have hands placed no wider than shoulder width so when you use full range your elbows come down in front of you instead of flaring out this would keep the rotator safe , like doinng an arnold press with a barbell. I garuntee anorld presses dont hurt your shoulder like when your trying to use full rom ao a barbell with a wide grip

@ cudd2287

I think we are shouting from the same hymm sheet i call it (wider than shoulder width), you call it (no wider than shoulder width) what i would call wider than shoulder width is at full rom on the negative is my thumb is no further than 6inches from my side lat, coming down to collar bone area, pushing through with the palms and bringing the bar down past your nose, if you go too close a grip and are lifting heavy i think you tend to force it too much which can put unwanted stress on the spine while calling on back muscles, we depend alot on triceps for shoulder movents anyway so use them to help aide the movement, and you wont flare out on barbell press db press maybe.

@ stickupkid

Yeah arnie presses are good i use them and i like them just like cudd2287 they wouldnt be a mass builder though but are a great excercise all the same if i was using them they would be my first 3 working sets for when i have my most energy or use them as a finisher they fall under the TUT category so they do help with building strenght, i think arnie used them more for pre-comp.

If i plateau on shoulders, i never drop the weight i throw front delts with chest day and rear delts with back day and just focus shoulder day with 5 sets bb shoulder press, 2 sets side lat raise and 5 sets db press going heavy 6-8 reps to build my fast twitch fibres it works a treat just thought i would throw it in if you get stuck sometime, leverage shoulder press is an awesome piece of equipment if its in your gym use it.

Thanks for the advice cudd2287 & LALA will take on board, again many thanks

stickupkid,

Your problem may be because your grip is too wide if you're doing front press.
When I do mine I have my hands exactly shoulder width and no wider apart, I also come down to my Collar bones on this one.
Press behind head tends to build all over shoulder with a bit more emphasis towards the rear. This move is not an accident waiting to happen! If you do them correctly. Make sure you don't go too heavy until you have really nailed the move, also don't go any lower than the bottom of your ears. Try them seated on the smith or preferably a power or squat rack as the Smith machine will only allow you to move in one plane. When I used to do seated press and standing press B/Head I used to naturally twist a little with my arms as they went up. Everybody has a different range of motion when training and this is more prevalent on certain exercises. I used to coach new members in a gym and pressing above head (mostly front press as they were new to training) seemed to be a real problem for some, especially those who did not do a manual job!
A word of caution with any machines or Smith machine, they will only allow you to move in one plane, ie, the plane the machine moves in, which can be a problem for some. This is not so with cables.
Also "don't count the weights, make the weights count!"
Your body can't see the weights your pressing they only feel them. So always focus on the 'feel' of the exercise and the fatigue on your muscles and don't let your ego get carried away with always adding weight. Remember a couple more reps at the same weight next time is a sign you are getting stronger.
Good luck! Graham

Thanks graham.