How to Build Pectoral Muscles With a Torn Rotator Cuff
By
Aubrey Bailey, PT, DPT, CF-L1
Updated on July 31, 2025
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Shoulder pain can significantly interfere with your exercise activities, but you can still safely perform an upper-body workout with a shoulder injury. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles — supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis — that help move and stabilize your shoulder joint. The tendons of these muscles can fray over time due to overuse and poor posture, causing them to rub against bone and sometimes leading to a complete tear. Less commonly, the rotator cuff can tear with trauma, such as a fall.
After a rotator cuff tear, specific exercises in a fixed and monitored program can help you regain mobility and strength in your shoulder and the supporting muscles, including some pectoral (chest) muscles. Get clearance from your doctor or exercise under the supervision of a physical therapist if you have a rotator cuff tear. The wrong type of exercise can actually exacerbate the injury.
Chest Exercises With Shoulder Injury
Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. However, this also makes it the least stable, meaning it’s more prone to injury than other joints. Performing chest exercises with a shoulder injury, such as a rotator cuff tear, can lead to more problems if you aren't careful.
Doctors often include physical therapy in treatment plans for rotator cuff tears. People who are very active might require surgery for their injury, followed by physical therapy. Do not attempt chest exercises with a shoulder injury until your pain has subsided and you have regained both a full range of motion and enough strength to complete everyday tasks.
- A physical therapist will usually start with passive exercises, either by moving your arm for you or having you move the injured arm with your healthy arm.
- Then, they’ll teach you exercises to practice for improving shoulder muscle strength.
- Many of the exercises will focus on improving shoulder and shoulder blade movement.
Shoulder-Friendly Chest Exercises
Before selecting shoulder-friendly chest exercises, it is essential to master proper exercise posture. A crucial aspect of recovering from a rotator cuff injury is learning to maintain proper shoulder posture, especially during overhead movements.
The rotator cuff tendons lie on top of your upper arm bone, under a bony roof called the acromion that forms part of your shoulder blade called the acromion. When you sit in a slouched position, which many people do, you further decrease the amount of space between these bones. This causes impingement, or pinching of the tendons, especially when you raise your arms above shoulder height.
Reaching your arms up and out to the side also pinches your rotator cuff tendons. This position, called abduction, is also used during many chest strengthening exercises, such as bench pressing, supine chest flies, and dumbbell chest presses.
However, this doesn't mean putting chest day entirely on hold if you have a rotator cuff injury, although you’ll need to make some adjustments. Simply incorporate some shoulder-friendly chest exercises into your routine. Begin with 10 repetitions of each exercise, working up to three sets in a row.
Move 1: Close-Grip or “Military” Push-Ups
You can still perform push-ups as part of an upper-body workout with a shoulder injury. You can try close-grip push-ups that keep your elbows closer to your body and reduces the risk of overusing your shoulders that the regular push-up position can present.
In addition to strengthening your pectoral muscles, the close-grip push-up also puts more emphasis on your triceps.
- Lie on your stomach on a firm surface.
- Place your hands directly under your shoulders, or just inside your shoulders.
- Press up into a plank position, supporting your weight on your palms and the balls of your feet.
- Keeping your body straight from head to toe, bend your elbows and lower yourself toward the ground. If desired, touch your chest lightly on the ground. Be sure to keep your glutes and abs engaged during this exercise.
- Press back up to plank position to complete one repetition.
Move 2: Incline Bench Press
The commonly-performed wide-grip bench press should be avoided if you have shoulder pain increases the load on your shoulders and risks further injury, per a 2024 study. Modify your bench press by using an incline bench at a 30-degree angle, instead of lying on a flat surface. This will reduce the amount of stress placed on your shoulder joints and rotator cuff.
- Position yourself under the barbell rack. Grab the barbell with your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Lift the barbell out of the rack.
- Lower the bar until it is approximately one inch from your chest; then press back up.
- Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your sides throughout this exercise. Allowing your elbows to flare out will increase pressure on your shoulders. Some clinical theories suggest that an abduction angle of more than 45 degrees can lead to high compression forces on the shoulder joint, resulting in repetitive, small tears.
Move 3: Chest Press Machine
Exercise machines stabilize the weight for you and limit your range of motion, helping to keep your shoulder in a safe position, maintain the correct form, and reduce your risk of injury. You can use a lever machine to perform a chest press with a torn rotator cuff.
- Adjust the seat height so that the horizontal handles are at chest level.
- Press the foot lever to bring the handles forward. If available, grasp the vertical handles to reduce shoulder abduction.
- Press the weight out in front of you until your elbows fully straighten; then return to the starting position.
To further reduce stress on your shoulders during this exercise, minimize the distance that your elbows travel backward between repetitions. You should feel a comfortable range of motion that you’re able to maintain with minimum discomfort.
Move 4: Dumbbell Floor Press
Try the dumbbell floor press as a free-weight option for chest exercises with a rotator cuff injury. This takes a standard dumbbell press on a bench and forgoes the bench. Instead, you’ll be lying with your shoulder blades touching the floor. This provides additional stabilization to your shoulder joints.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the ground, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Hold one dumbbell in each hand.
- Bend your elbows to 90 degrees.
- Position your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your sides.
- Press the weights up toward the ceiling, bringing them together over your chest.
- Lower back down and lightly touch your elbows to the ground.
The Takeaway
- If you're dealing with a torn rotator cuff, focusing on shoulder-friendly exercises can help maintain strength without worsening your condition.
- Consult with a healthcare professional, such as a physiotherapist, before starting any exercise program to ensure it's safe for your specific injury.
- You may be able to cautiously incorporate techniques like close-grip push-ups and incline bench presses, as these alternatives limit further strain on the rotator cuff.
- Be aware that improper form during chest exercises can increase the risk of further injury, so ensure that you closely monitor exercise posture and form.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- Rotator Cuff Tear. Hospital for Special Surgery. September 29, 2024.
- Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Conditioning Program. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
- Rotator cuff - self-care. Mount Sinai.
- Miniato M et al. Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Shoulder. StatPearls. July 24, 2023.
- Cho MS et al. A crucial aspect of recovering from a rotator cuff injury is learning to maintain proper shoulder posture, especially during overhead movements. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. October 2, 2025.
- Shoulder Impingement (Rotator Cuff Tendinitis). Cleveland Clinic. February 21.
- Shoulder Impingement. Hospital for Special Surgery.
- Barbell Bench Press. National Academy of Sports Medicine.
- Lying Chest Fly. American Council on Exercise.
- Chest Press. American Council on Exercise.
- Here’s How To Do a Good, Basic Push-up. Cleveland Clinic. February 20, 2024.
- Noteboom L et al. Effects of bench press technique variations on musculoskeletal shoulder loads and potential injury risk. Frontiers in Physiology. June 21, 2024.
- The Forgotten Benefits of Machine Training. American Council on Exercise. May 2019.
- Chest Press. American Council on Exercise.
Meet Our Experts
Scott Haak, PT, DPT, MTC, CSCS
Medical Reviewer
Scott Haak, PT, DPT, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2000. Dr. Haak serves as faculty for the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic Florida. He is certified by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) as a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is a Certified USA Weightlifting Coach and Certified USA Football Coach, and possesses a MTC (Manual Therapy Certification) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.
Haak is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys running, weightlifting, and sports performance training. He is the president and director of coaching of a youth tackle football organization, JDL Providence Football, and currently coaches high school football and weight lifting.
