The serratus anterior is a muscle on either side of your ribs near your armpits that works with other muscles to move the shoulder blade and shoulder joint in different directions, such as in protraction and retraction. It also stabilizes the shoulder blade to keep it in place as it moves. All push and pull exercises --- using various tools and methods --- will strengthen the serratus anterior as well as other muscle groups.
Boxing and Strikes
Any punching and striking maneuvers with your hands and elbows use the serratus anterior and other upper-body muscles to protract the shoulders forward and retract the shoulders back. These maneuvers can be derived from boxing --- such as the jab, hook and uppercut --- or from the southern Chinese martial art wing chun --- such as chain punching. To perform these strikes properly, you should work with a boxing coach or a martial art teacher before on your own. These drills incorporate foot positions, breathing, rhythm, mental focus and hip power besides just moving your shoulders and arms, says strength coach and physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance."
Pushing and Pulling
Pushes and pulls are the fundamental movement patterns to your upper body that work on all muscles in your torso and arms, including the serratus anterior. The deeper layers of the serratus anterior work with other muscles in your shoulders to stabilize the shoulder blades while the more superficial layers assist in moving the shoulders. These exercises include standing dumbbell rows, standing cable chest presses or flies, pushups, pullups and medicine ball throws.
Supersets
A superset involves performing two exercises that train opposing movement patterns or muscle groups consecutively without rest between sets, says the National Academy of Sports Medicine. This allows one muscle to rest while opposite group works. For example, you can do one set of dumbbell chest press and one of standing dumbbell row back-to-back. When you have completed one superset, rest for no more than two minutes and do two more supersets. You can also do a push or pull exercise with a lower-body exercise, such as a pushup and a squat or a pullup and a squat.
Expert Insight
Too much work on the serratus anterior can cause tightness in the muscle and the surrounding tissues. This can lead to excessive shoulder protraction that causes a hunched upper back and shoulders and a forward head, says physical therapist Chris Frederick, co-author of "Stretch to Win." Stretching your chest and serratus anterior can prevent the poor posture. A sample stretch is to stand between a doorway with one foot in front of you, and put your forearms and elbows against a doorjamb with your arms bend at 90 degrees. As you shift your weight forward to stretch, slide your arms up slowly until your arms are fully extended. Hold the stretch for five or six deep breaths, switch leg position and stretch for another five to six deep breaths.
References
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; Michael Clark; 2007
- "Stretch to Win"; Ann Frederick and Chris Frederick; 2006
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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