1. Stretch for Comfort
Stretching exercises are just as important to remaining active as you age as strengthening and toning exercises. Stretching will keep you flexible to train and compete in your peak condition. Stretching helps to prevent injuries. While stretching may seem like a benign activity with no direct benefits to your game or to your physiques, it is the hidden moves of stretching that allow all the other activities to come together smoothly.
2. Easy Moves
Lie on the floor on your back to perform an easy shoulder rotation routine. Stretch your arms out to your sides with your elbows bent and your fingers aimed toward your feet. Lift your hands without lifting any other part of your arms. Bring your hands up to lie flat above your head. Your elbows should not come up. If you can't touch the floor, just go as far as you can. Push a little further each time until you can easily touch the floor.
3. You're a Windmill
Whether you are recovering from shoulder surgery or just tight from a hard workout, you should incorporate windmill moves into your daily routine. Stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, with your arms at your sides. Pick one arm up and swing it forward and all the way around back to its original positions. Now swing it in the other direction. Repeat on the other arm. Rotate five times in each direction. Stop whenever you feel pain when performing stretching exercises. You may have to back off a little and only raise your arm part way. Gentle tugging, not force or bouncing, will get your shoulder back to full rotation.
4. Included for Free
Find sports activities that require a range of shoulder motion to perform. Swimming is an ideal activity since you must move your arm in circles in order to move through the water. Tennis is a good range of motion sport for the upper body and brings elements of twisting and bending to the shoulders that most other sports do not. Golf utilizes a multitude of ranges, as does playing catch with a ball and rowing. Ease into a sport to avoid injury and to let your body become accustomed to the movements.
5. Calm Down
The shoulders in particular seem to be a gathering place for stress-related issues. If you carry anger or frustration that causes the stress in the first place, your shoulders may get tighter until no amount of exercise or rotation can help. Learn to relax through meditation and calming activities, such as deep breathing and listening to soothing music. Once your shoulders release the stress, then you can begin the stretching and strengthening exercises.
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