Four for Shoulders

Since I’ve been talking about shoulders all week, I figured I should finish up with my favorite shoulder exercises.  Here are four:

 

1.     Supine arm twist:  I admit that this is one of my favorite exercises, period.  Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor.  Extend your arms straight up over your chest and put your palms together.  Keeping the palms together, move the arms from side to side.  The pelvis stays level the whole time.  Do ten reps keeping the head still, ten more with the head moving with the arms, and a final ten with the head going the opposite direction as the arms.  For bonus points, put a pair of yoga tune up balls between the shoulder blades; it will be uncomfortable, but it will work out a lot of knots.

2.     Spinal extensions.  There are lots of these, ranging from cobra to upward dog to dart to scarecrow.  Any back bend will do.  Whichever one you choose, make sure to inhale as you bend back and exhale as you return to neutral.  Also, pay attention to what the shoulder blades are doing.  Ideally, they stay flush to the ribcage and float smoothly over its surface.

3.     Shoulder flexion in the scapular plane.  This is a variation of lateral raises.  Instead of raising the arms straight out to the side, the arms come up at a diagonal (in the same plane as the scapulae, which point diagonally out from the spine).  This allows more optimal muscle recruitment.

4.     Pushups.  The perfect pushup, from a shoulder mechanics perspective, begins with the hands directly under the shoulders.  The hands should be facing directly forward or maybe a tiny bit turned out.  During the lowering and lifting phase of the pushup, the elbows should point back toward the heels, not out to the side.  Pushups can be done from a floor plank position, from the knees, or against a wall, depending on personal preference and level of training.  Again, the shoulder blades should stay resting against the rib cage.

 

Go play.