Niche Education Manager Sabrina and Niche Instructor and physical therapist Taylor answer common questions about navigating shoulder discomfort in Reformer and Strength classes.
Shoulder impingement and ongoing shoulder discomfort can make movements like planks, push-ups, overhead presses, side planks, and strap work feel intimidating. At Niche, modifying an exercise does not mean opting out of a full workout. With clear communication, intentional adjustments, and support from your instructor, you can continue building strength, core stability, mobility, balance, and confidence.
What should I tell my instructor before class?
Sabrina: Let your instructor know before class that you are experiencing shoulder discomfort, and share which movements tend to bother you. For example, does discomfort come up when you reach overhead, bear weight through your hands, pull on straps, lie on one side, or move through a push-up?
The more specific you can be about what you feel and when you feel it, the easier it is for your instructor to support you. They may adjust your range of motion, spring load, weight selection, body position, or exercise setup. They may also offer an alternate movement that trains a similar muscle group without aggravating the shoulder.
Taylor: If you have guidance, clearance, or restrictions from a healthcare provider or physical therapist, share that with your instructor, too. Together, you can decide whether reducing the load, shortening the range of motion, changing your position, or swapping the exercise is the most supportive option for that day.
Which Reformer movements may need extra attention?
Sabrina: Side planks are a common place people feel shoulder discomfort when they should be feeling the work in their side body. This often happens when someone sinks into the shoulder rather than pressing away from the carriage or box.
In general, people may feel more discomfort during arm work when they lift, grip, or tense through the shoulders to initiate the movement. This can shift the work into the neck, upper traps, and shoulder joint instead of allowing the side body and lats to support the exercise.
Your instructor can help you find a more supported position by cueing you to press away through the arms, broaden across the collarbones, and use the muscles around the shoulder blade. Exercises involving overhead reaching, pushing through the hands, or holding a long plank position may benefit from a smaller range of motion or an alternate setup.
How can the Reformer be adjusted?
Sabrina: Lessening the spring tension or range of motion can help the correct muscles work instead of allowing the shoulder to do all of the work. As your body learns where the movement should come from, you can build strength and control over time.
Tightness through the front of the chest can also pull the shoulders forward and make it difficult not to move immediately from the shoulders. Chest-opening stretches can often provide relief and help you access the side body and lats.
For planks and push-ups, using a more supportive spring setting, such as one red spring, can help you focus on pressing away from the box or carriage rather than sinking into the chest. Sternum presses are another useful way to practice the positioning and shoulder-blade control needed for weight-bearing movements.
How can I modify Strength exercises?
Taylor: There are many ways to make Strength class more accessible while still feeling successful. You may reduce the weight, shorten the range of motion to stay pain-free, adjust your shoulder position, or swap an exercise that is causing irritation.
For planks and push-ups, moving from the floor to a bench or wall can decrease the load through the shoulder. The more vertical your body position, the less direct tension is placed on the shoulder joint.
An overhead triceps extension on the cable machine can also be an uncomfortable starting position for some shoulders. Swapping it for a triceps pushdown, with the elbows close to the rib cage, can still work the triceps while placing the shoulder in a more favorable position.
What adjustments make upper-body strength work feel more supportive?
Taylor: Start by reducing resistance and staying in a pain-free range of motion. If you are experiencing discomfort, a helpful guideline is to keep movements below shoulder height and your elbows closer to your rib cage.
If overhead movement is available to you but creates slight discomfort, try a neutral grip and position your elbows slightly forward, around 45 degrees from the torso, rather than directly out to the sides. For a supine chest press or seated overhead press, this adjustment may create more space for the rotator cuff tendons to move and reduce a pinching sensation.
Slow, controlled movement also matters. Avoid letting momentum take over, since that can place the joint and surrounding muscles in a less supported position.
Can I still get a full-body workout?
Sabrina: Absolutely. Sometimes that means using no straps or arm resistance for a period of time and allowing the lower body, core, balance, and mobility work to take the lead. There are so many ways to work effectively on the Reformer without aggravating the shoulders.
Taylor: If planks or side planks do not feel appropriate, core exercises performed on your back, such as alternating marches or double-leg extensions, can help you train the core without direct pressure through the shoulder. Lower-body options like glute bridges on the bench or standing cable glute kickbacks can also create a challenge without requiring you to hold a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell.
Modifying does not mean you are getting less of a workout. It means you are selecting the movement that best supports your body that day.
How do I know when to modify or stop?
Sabrina: Normal muscle effort often feels like fatigue, shaking, or a gradual burn in the muscles you are working. It should feel manageable and generally ease when the exercise stops or the intensity is reduced.
Sharp, pinching, catching, shooting, or sudden pain is a signal to pause. Discomfort that gets worse with each repetition, feels deep in a joint, causes numbness or tingling, or changes the way you move to avoid the sensation is also a reason to stop and modify.
Taylor: Seek individualized guidance from a healthcare provider or physical therapist if you have had an acute injury, such as a fall directly onto the shoulder or a sudden pop during a heavy lift. Visible deformity, significant swelling, redness, sharp or burning pain that travels down the arm, numbness, weakness, pins and needles, or significant loss of range of motion are all signs to pause your workout and seek care.
If symptoms do not improve after two to three weeks of exercise modification, more individualized support is also warranted.
What does gradual progress look like?
Taylor: Once you have guidance from a physical therapist or healthcare provider, gradual progression is key. Begin with low-resistance or body-weight movements in a pain-free range, with the elbows closer to the body. Scapular squeezes, also called retractions, can be a good starting point.
From there, progress load without pinching or pain. Light weights, a shortened range of motion, and exercises slightly forward from the side of the body can provide a supportive next step. When you are ready, you can gradually return to overhead reaching, pulling, and pushing with mindful weight selection, good form, and a slow tempo.
Every client’s path back to upper-body strength is individual. Your instructors are here to help you feel supported and successful throughout that process.
In the video below, find supportive Reformer modifications with Sabrina that help you keep moving while reducing strain on the shoulder.
Follow Taylor’s shoulder-friendly Strength modifications below to build full-body strength with confidence and control.
Start With Private Support
If you are managing shoulder impingement, an injury, or ongoing discomfort, schedule a private Pilates session before joining group classes. A Niche instructor can help you understand supportive modifications, build confidence on the equipment, and create a movement plan that meets your body where it is.
