Lots of people can’t put their arms over their heads by the time they hit 30,  and then they join a CrossFit gym and get hurt doing 500 snatches for time. Without sounding like a hater or getting into the reasons why that’s maybe not an awesome idea, let’s talk about shoulders. Every shoulder is a special snowflake and they are all a little different, even when two of them belong to the same person. A stable overhead position looks slightly different for everyone. Here are the basic governing principles and what to try if the basics aren’t working for you.
 
If you are a North American weightlifter, you probably started in early adulthood, after your shoulders were starting to show signs of age. Most of us discovered weightlifting by watching the Olympics or following the great weightlifters on social media, or maybe it was through CrossFit or a weightlifting club at your local gym. A lucky few were introduced to weightlifting by good college strength coaches who included the snatch and the clean and jerk in sport-specific programs. The bad news is that early adulthood is usually too late to build a good weightlifter— years of sitting too much, forward head posture, and rounded shoulders have already taken a toll on the structure of the shoulder girdle.
 
Now, I’m not telling you that all is lost - but you will need to take care of those shoulders and make sure that your overhead position is solid so that you can continue to lift over the long term.
 
The shoulder is made up of four joints: the glenohumeral joint, where the humerus, or upper arm, joins with the glenoid fossa on the scapula; the acromioclavicular joint, where the clavicle, or collarbone, joins with the acromion process on the scapula; the sternoclavicular joint, where the proximal end of the clavicle with the sternum; and finally the scapulothoracic joint, where the scapula joins with the rib cage. The four joints together form a ball-and-socket system whose strength and flexibility we depend on for flexion, extension, adduction, and rotation. With a complex series of tendons and ligaments in close proximity, there’s not much room for things to go wrong - even five milliliters of extra fluid in the joint can really impede motion. So it’s no wonder that when a person who spends many hours sitting every day, shoulders rounded and head forward, decides they want to put a loaded barbell over their head, things can get...interesting.
 
Generally when new weightlifters start learning the overhead position, they are taught to pull their shoulder blades up and together to create stability, with the bar over the back of the neck and the head forward. This is the most mechanically sound position and the best way to go IF the shoulders are healthy and mobile. If the shoulders are habitually rounded and flexion and external rotation is limited, for example if you sit in a chair hunched over a computer keyboard all day, your shoulder mobility may be a little tied up and this position can give way to a host of other issues.
 
If this sounds like you, try this quick assessment: find a convex corner or door frame in your house or your gym, and line it up with your spine so that you can feel the corner between your shoulder blades. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and externally rotate your shoulders. Can you feel your shoulder blades squeeze that corner? If the answer is yes, can you reach your arms overhead and do the same thing? IF you can still feel your shoulder blades squeezing the corner then you are probably in good shape to get a barbell over your head comfortably. If not, you have some work to do.
 
Here are the two most common errors in the overhead position and how to correct them.

1. Shoulders are shrugged up around the ears and the shoulders are internally rotated

If your neck disappears when you catch a snatch or a jerk, you need to work on scapular retraction. But don’t worry; you aren’t alone. Lots of strong athletes can’t feel the difference between scapular elevation and retraction. It’s a fairly easy imbalance to correct but it takes some patience and some focused work in your warm up.
 
Start lying supine on a foam roller that’s lined up with your spine. Keeping the shoulders away from the ears, pull your shoulder blades around the foam roller. Maintain that hug while you circle your arms overhead. Next, add a light resistance band and do a set of pull aparts in the same position, paying attention to the sensation of squeezing the shoulder blades around that roller with each rep. Finish with moving the foam roller to the wall. Lean against it standing up, and do a set of overhead presses - maintaining that good scapular position you had on the floor. Do 20 reps of each of these exercises and you will be on your way to developing strong rhomboids, good scapular positioning, a happier neck, and better posture.
 
2. Torso is too far forward and shoulders are cranked too far into external rotation

We’ve all seen those lifters that look like their arms are going to snap off at the shoulders like Mr. Potatohead in their catch positions. If you are one of them this is something that needs fixing pronto because if you don’t have shoulder pain now, you are going to! The shoulder joint is not all that structurally stable in that dumped-forward position and loading there can lead to irritation and tearing.
 
To correct this, two things need to happen. First, you need to develop sufficient thoracic extension to support the weight with a more vertical torso. Do this by spending some extra warm-up time on a foam roller, working into extension under control, one vertebra at a time. This is NOT a relaxation exercise; focus hard and work at it. (Click HERE for video.)

Second, work on strengthening the muscles that depress the scapula (the serratus anterior, lower trapezius, and latissimus dorsi). Add a wide variety of pulling exercises to your accessory work. Focus on retracting the scapulae with horizontal pulls and depressing the scapulae with vertical pulls.
 
Once you’ve established a good overhead position, it’ll still require some work to maintain. Extra time spent warming up your shoulders will always pay off by keeping them strong and healthy over the long term. It will also help you maintain good posture and stay injury free in the rest of your life, just in case you like doing things outside the gym like having a family, career, and maybe even other hobbies. It still doesn’t mean that 500 snatches for time is a good idea!