Your shoulders are the most movable joints in your body and are also prone to injury and stiffness. They are part of the myofascial sling system that produces rotational movement, such as throwing a ball or a boxing punch. This sling system consists of connective tissues that surround the shoulders and connect with other tissues in the back muscles, hips, and outer and inner thighs. Therefore, when training your shoulders, you must integrate other body parts to increase strength, stability and mobility.
Arm Swings
This dynamic stretch moves the shoulder in all planes of motion and should be done before workouts. Do all three exercises until the joints feel looser.
Swing one arm to the front and one to the back and alternating the swing in a rhythm. Then swing your arms across your chest and over your head like a criss-cross pattern. Finish it with swinging your arms across your body with torso rotation.
Lateral Stretch With Twist
This exercise stretches the entire lateral fascia that runs from your armpits to the upper part of your outer thigh. The upper body twist moves your thoracic spine and improves its mobility.
Stand about arm-distance away from a pole, doorjamb or sturdy support, and bend sideways to grab it with both hands. As you push your hip away from the support, reach your lower arm across your body without moving your hips and legs to twist.
Push-Ups and Pull-Ups
These two classic calisthenics strengthen your core and upper body, including your shoulders. Experiment with different grip and hand positions, such as wide, narrow, and imbalanced (one arm higher than the other).
Kettlebell Front Swings
Swinging a kettlebell relies on controlling its momentum and speed and using your hips and legs to generate force and your shoulders and core muscles for control.
Stand with your legs hip-width apart and carry a kettlebell that you can swing in each hand by your sides. Use your legs and hips to push against the ground and swing your arms slightly back to generate the initial force. Swing the kettlebell in front of you with your parallel to the ground.
Kettlebell Snatch and Clean
Like the kettlebell swings, this power exercise requires your entire body to generate force to lift the kettlebell overhead. You should do this advanced power exercise with instruction and supervision of a qualified exercise professional before doing it on your own.
To do the snatch and clean, stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a kettlebell with your left hand. Hang your left arm in front of your body with your knuckles facing forward. Bend your legs and hips, and drive your body up to lift the kettlebell and flip it over your hand in a catch position where your left arm is bent and close to the center of your body. Drive your body up again with your legs and hips to lift the weight over your head.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
You should do this traditional shoulder exercise standing up with both feet hip-distance apart or with one leg in front of the other to use your core and hips for support. This will help you gain more strengthen than sitting down.
Cable Chop
This exercise strengthens your core and shoulders by using resistance from a cable pulley machine. With the handle set at the highest height, hold the handle with both hands, pull it diagonally across your chest and push it to the opposite hip. You can do this standing up or kneeling down.
Cable Lift
This exercise is the mirror image of the chop, where you set your handle to the lowest height. Pull the handle up and diagonally across your chest and push it above your opposite shoulder.
Doorway Chest Stretch
This exercise opens up the tightness in the chest and front shoulder areas and is good for those who work in front of a computer for long hours.
Stand with one leg in front of the other and place both forearms (bent at 90 degrees at the elbows) against the doorjamb. Lean your body forward and push your hips forward while keeping your spine tall. Hold the position for three deep breaths, lean back to starting position and repeat three to five more times until you feel looser.
Medicine Ball Throws
Explosive medicine ball throw exercises, such as chest passes, overhead throws and rotational tosses, strengthen your shoulders in different directions and increase power in your entire body.
References
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2006
- "National Academy of Sports Medicine; Integrated Flexibility Specialist"; Michael Clark; 2003
- "Pain-Free Program"; Anthony Care; 2005
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