Band pull aparts, lots of them. Start each rep with your thumbs facing up and rotate externally as you pull apart (right thumb rotates clockwise, left thumb counter clockwise). That external rotation movement is going to be key to everything. I used to have shoulder issues with nearly every normal shoulder/chest exercise but finding externally rotates variants ‘solved’ everything.
- Externally rotating band pull aparts
- Face pulls in a cable machine. These are almost as magic as pull aparts.
- Bench with ‘suicide’ grip (in a rack), turns your shoulders to a much safer direction.
- When pressing overhead keep your grip pretty close and try to ‘bend the bar’ with that external rotation twisting motion.
- Landmine overhead press is great for more pressing volume that is joint friendly.
- Lat raises with as much external rotation as you can handle and dont go over shoulder height.
- Lots of rows from every angle, but keep that grip externally rotated.
- Dont squat with a normal bar, find a safety squat bar. Normal high/low bar squats are off the table for bad shoulders and unless you are competing in power lifting the SSB is a better exercise in every way. The upper back work it gives you translates directly to the bike.
- Do your deadlifts. Really, quit slacking. A strong back makes everything more stable.
- No chins or dips for me. This sucks, but after re-pissing-off my shoulder for the 50th time I finally had to come to terms with just doing cable pulldowns/rows.
Even on the bike, i tweaked my hood placement to keep my shoulders from internally rotating as much and i frequently ride the trainer with my palms facing center on the outside of the bend at the flats.