I’ve had my fair share of rotator cuff injuries from bench press, dumbbell press, shoulder press, etc. The best exercises I’ve discovered to strengthen my rotator cuff:
- Face pulls
- Shoulder dislocators (also known as ‘broomstick stretch’, or you can do it with a towel or some sort of band).
Think inverse.
Try to think to yourself:
If I did the exact OPPOSITE of a bench press or dumbbell press … what would it look like?
1. What is a face pull?
You use this pulley machine, and use an extended rope, and just pull the weight directly towards your face. Imagine the inverse of a bench press.
I often ‘cheat’ by adding the maximum weight, and then use my whole body to pull:
2. Shoulder dislocators
Shout out to one of my UCLA mentors — Thomas Rodriguez. He taught me the ‘shoulder dislocator’ physical therapy move, via broomstick. I actually prefer it with a band; more range of motion.
The gist is this:
Un-stuck your shoulder muscles.
When you do this type of dynamic stretch and movement, I think it somehow increases blood flow to the shoulder and rotator cuff region, which is good to strengthen your rotator cuff.
Flex on
Flexing is good. Better to flex your body and get muscular gains instead of money gains.
Strength is the goal

I don’t like to think of it as ‘stretching’ or even ‘warming up’. Better to think of calling it “dynamic strengthening” or “movement strength”.
All strength is good!
FLEX ON!
ERIC
My Muscle Philosophy:
Treat your body as sculpture.
This is not my body
The first thing:
I don’t see my body as belonging to me. I look at my body like it belongs to someone else.
When I look at the Lamborghini of someone else, I admire it. When I see the muscles and physiques of anyone else, I admire it. Then I had the epiphany:
Why not transform my own body into a Lambo, and admire my own body instead?
The logic
The great logic:
- It is far cheaper to get buff than to buy a Lambo.
- The human body is the apex beauty. This means your personal goal in life should be to beautify your own personal body to the maximum (without plastic surgery, steroids, etc).
- Ultimate democratic approach: Genetics doesn’t matter. Sex doesn’t matter. Racial ethnicity doesn’t matter. Anyone can both add muscle mass and subtract fat.
- It doesn’t cost much to get ripped. Just intermittent fast [no breakfast, no lunch], one big ass meal a day, and mostly a ‘ketogenic’ diet.
- Your body is always with you. Why not beautify your body to inspire yourself?
The joy of sculpting your own body
To sculpt your own body is insanely fun. Why? You can see the change over time!
Once again, the goal is simple:
Never stop adding muscle mass, and never stop reducing body fat, or keeping it low (around 10%).
Muscle and your body is highly practical.
The more muscle you have, the more energy you got. The more power you got to make art-work, and live with gratitude, joy, and hyper-vigor.
Strengthen on, and flex on!
ERIC
MUSCLE 101
- In Praise of Rings Workout
- How to Workout at the Park
- Why I Don’t Eat Breakfast or Lunch (In Praise of One Huge Dinner Meal a Day)
- HOW TO LOVE YOUR BODY
- Is Working Out at the Park Superior to Working Out at the Gym?
- Why I Workout
- WHY PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOULD WORKOUT
- How to Increase Your Testosterone
- My Workout Philosophy
- How Appearance Matters
- How I Workout at Home
- My Philosophy of Food
- The Best Park Workouts
- How to Quit Sugar
- How to Workout in the Streets and Park
- How Much Meat Can You Eat in a Day?
- APEX MALE MASCULINITY
HOW I WORKOUT AT THE PARK - How to Lose Fat
- How I Became Stronger and Buffer and More Swole During and After Quarantine
- What is Skinny-Fat?
- In Praise of Working Out at the Park
- Why Meat is Good
- Flesh over Metal
- Why Lower Your Bodyfat?
- How to Augment Your Recovery
- Increase Intensity, not Reps
- My Park Workout
- How to Fast
- HOW I WORKOUT FROM THE PARK
- How I Got So Swole
- Pure Power or Sculpture?
- How to Workout in the Streets
- How to Workout At Home With No Equipment
- Super Saiyan is the Goal
- MY POWERLIFTING PHILOSOPHY
- MY EXERCISE/WORKOUT PHILOSOPHY
- What if Mood Originates in the Stomach and Gut? Digestion Health
- Why I Don’t Consume Protein Powder or Supplements
- Real vs Fake // Natural vs Unnatural
- You Can’t Fake Strength
- How to Grow Your Muscles
- How to Add Muscle and Subtract Fat at the Same Time
- ERIC KIM BODY MUSCLE FLEX
- Don’t Build Muscle, Build Strength.
- Visual Kinesthesia: Muscles and Art
- How to Maximize Muscle Growth and Fat Loss