I am laying off heavy benching for a while until i strengthen my rotor cuff due to shoulder problems. how can I best keep my strength by using minimum weight?
I am thinking of mostly negatives and longer TUT, anything else?
If you want to gain muscles with minimum weight then i suggest you to join a gym and personal trainer. He will give you good information and training to build muscles with minimum weight. You need to do some exercise for this purpose.
I'd say uneven or one-handed pushups with elbows tight to your body a la Convict Conditioning would be a great way to achieve the overload you're looking for while protecting your shoulders. I have a completely torn labrum but I'm able to do these exercises with no pain whatsoever.