3 Tools To Increase Shoulder Mobility
Find yourself stuggling to build up decent shoulder mobility on overhead pressing movements? Constantly feeling as if your shoulders are tense and sore? Often dealing with niggling shoulder pain?
I've been there.
"I just need to take some more fish oil and glucosamine" I thought to myself whenver I ran into these issues.
It never helped.
What did help was going out of my way to strengthen my shoulders and improve their mobility with the 3 simple tools you see pictured above each morning.
Spend 5 - 10 minutes every day or at least every other day performing the following and you'll be amazed at just how much your workouts and quality of life can improve!
1 - Broom Stick/Wooden Pole
Shoulder Dislocations
Grasp the pole or resistance band with a wide grip (the more you practise these and the more flexible your shoulders become the narrower grip you’ll be able to utilize).
For the duration of the exercise squeeze your back muscle and shoulder blades together, maintain a relaxed chest.
Keeping your arms as straight as possible lift above your head until the pole/band touches your lower back.
Bring the pole/band overhead once again and return it to the starting position (touching your thighs) while maintaining straight arms.
2 - Light Dumbbell
Standing internal Dumbbell Rotations
Hold a dumbbell in one hand with the elbow of that particular arm creating a 90 degree angle between your upper arm and your forearm.
Your forearm should be parallel to the floor and your elbow should be tucked against your side.
internally rotate your forearm while exhaling, ensuring it maintains a parallel to floor position.
Hold the contracted position before rotating externally to return to the starting position.
Repeat for 3 sets of 12 repetitions per arm.
Want to know more about internal rotation? Read my full article here.
Standing External Rotations
Hold a dumbbell in one hand with the elbow of that particular arm creating a 90 degree angle between your upper arm and your forearm.
Your forearm should be parallel to the floor and your elbow should be tucked against your side.
Externally rotate your forearm while exhaling, ensuring it maintains a parallel to floor position.
Hold the contracted position before rotating internally to return to the starting position.
Repeat for 3 sets of 12 repetitions per arm.
Want to know more about external rotation? Read my full article here.
3 - Trigger Point Ball/Tennis Ball
Tightness and pain in the deltoid results in weakness and limited range of motion.
Depending on the degree of your shoulder pain/tightness I recommend trying the 2 different methods for hitting the deltoids:
Start off standing side on against a wall - place the tennis ball on your deltoid (upper arm) and roll slightly from side to side to hone in on any trigger points.
Provided the above method was not already too sore it's time to move on to the floor, Lay on your side with the ball between your shoulder and the floor - roll around like you did on the wall to hone in and apply pressure to any apparent trigger points (you'll be applying a lot more pressure utilizing this method).
Putting It All Together... My Daily Shoulder Mobility Routine!
Every morning before I train I perform the following:
- Shoulder dislocations (with wooden pole) - 3 sets - 12 reps
- Standing internal dumbbell rotations - 3 sets - 12 reps per arm
- Standing external dumbbell rotations - 3 sets - 12 reps per arm
- 5 minutes of trigger point therapy with trigger point ball