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External Shoulder Rotation Exercises

May 26, 2011 | By Patrick Dale

The external rotation of your shoulder joint uses your infraspinatus and teres minor muscles -- parts of your rotator cuff -- and your posterior deltoid and lower trapezius muscles. You need strong external rotation muscles to maintain shoulder health and good posture. There are a number of exercises and workout modalities you can use to strengthen the external rotator muscles in your shoulders. The external rotator muscles are very small, so you don't need much weight or resistance to exercise them effectively.

L Flies

L flies, an effective weight training exercise, help increase the strength of your external rotators. Lie on your right side and grasp a light dumbbell in your left hand. Make sure your shoulders and hips are square and your spine is not twisted. Tuck your upper arm into your ribs and rest your forearm across your upper abdomen. Keeping your arm pinned to your side and your elbow bent to 90 degrees, rotate your forearm away from your abdomen as far as is comfortable. Hold the uppermost position for one to two seconds before slowly returning your arm to the starting position. Perform an equal number of repetitions on both sides.

Band Pull Aparts

You can sit or stand to perform band pull aparts. This ideal shoulder rehabilitation exercise requires very little in the way of exercise equipment. Hold a resistance band with your hands about shoulder width apart on the band. Raise your arms in front of you to shoulder level. Bend your elbows slightly. Pull the band apart while simultaneously externally rotating both your arms. The band should come up level with your eyes and your arms should resemble a large flat-bottomed U. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Band External Rotations

This exercise replicates a free-weight exercise done using a piece of workout equipment called a Shoulder Horn. Use a medium-length resistance band, and hold one end of the band in either hand. Place your left hand on your hip and, with a bent elbow, raise your right arm to shoulder level. Your elbow should be bent to 90 degrees with your arm held parallel to the floor. From this position, externally rotate your upper arm against the resistance of the band until your forearm is perpendicular to the floor. Slowly rotate your arm inward to return to the starting position and then repeat. Switch arms and do an equal number of repetitions on the other side.

Double External Rotation

You can exercise both arms at once with this exercise, making it more time-efficient than most. With your arms in front of you, palms turned up, grasp a short resistance band and hold it in front of your hips. Tuck your elbows into your side, bend your elbows and extend your forearms directly ahead of you. Rotate both arms externally and push the ends of the band apart as far as possible. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

References

Article reviewed by Teresa Mullins Last updated on: May 26, 2011

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