Ideas for Exercises to Prevent Shoulder Injuries

Isometrics are the simplest form of muscle exercise, requiring no equipment.:
Pushups are a common form and are great for building up shoulder muscles and keeping them fit. The type of pushup can be varied. You can do them of level ground, keeping your back straight and your butt down. You can also either raise up your feet or your hands to focus on the anterior and posterior deltoids in your shoulders. You can also vary your hand position for addition muscle focus.

Squeezing your hands and forearms and then feeling the muscles tighten up to the shoulder is another solid form of isometric exercise for your shoulders.

The exercises machines provide are similar to free weights but without the pressure of having to handle the weight if you can't pull off the lift:

Flies: These are one of the best exercises for the shoulders, and quite simple. Sit on the machine. You'll see a vertical padded forearm handle on your right and left. Bend your elbows so your forearm is at a 90-degree angle going up pressing against the pad. Bring both forearms together in front of you and then back. You may have to adjust the weight on the back of the machine so you are not straining to bring the fly handles together.

Presses: Another good machine exercise is the press, and there are a variety of them. Presses can be done from a sitting, lying, vertical, inclined or declined position. The idea is to press the weight away from your body, extending your arms.

A couple of different exercises work well with free weights:

Shrugs: Shrugs work the deltoids and the rotator cuff muscles. To do a shrug, simply hold the weights with the arms down at your side and roll your shoulders. It's not a big motion, but it isolates the shoulders fairly well.

Rowing: Rowing exercises can be done from a standing or bent-at-the-waist position. When standing, have your arms extended and hands in front of your groin, bend your elbows and bring the weight up to your chest or neck. Make sure you watch your weight on this one; a jerky movement won't help as much as slow, controlled lifts, and with too much weight you run the risk of injuring yourself.