The Shoulder Saving Warm Up

The athlete assumes a half kneeling position and hold the arms at shoulder height moving them away from the body.

 

Side Lying Windmill Circles (performed away from body) x 15 breaths – exhale as arm passes body

• The athlete lies on their side on the floor, with the bottom leg extended on the ground and the top leg supported by a foam roller or medicine ball with the knee flexed. They are instructed to keep the shoulders stacked and get them in line with the hips as they move their top arm away from the body.

 

Half Kneeling PVC Pec Minor Mobilizaztion x 15 breaths – exhale as arm rises

• The athlete assumes a half kneeling position, placing a long PVC pipe in their hand, while they drive the end of the PVC pipe into the other hand’s open palm. They are instructed to open up the chest and rotate through the shoulders. While they do this, they exhale.

 

Wall Sit to Shoulder Press x 10 breaths

• The athlete sits with their back against the wall. They are instructed to position their arms at shoulder height with the elbows flexed. The back of their arm and hand should be making contact with the wall behind them. They are instructed to pull the chest away from the sternum while they elevate the arms overhead, maintaining contact with the wall throughout the movement.

 

Inchworm to Push Up variation (plank push up, standard push up, Yoga push up) x 5 body lengths

 

It’s also important to activate the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Research involving healthy and post-surgery subjects revealed that activation exercises serve as a viable strategy to establish neuromuscular control of the muscles of the shoulder, which reduce the demand on the shoulder joints (2). Another study pegged abherrant timing of the rotator cuff muscles as causing injury and dysfunction. The study hypothesized that activation exercises may help the rotator cuff muscles in properly stabilizing the shoulder (1).

 

I’ll have this perform a block of activation exercises:

Half Kneeling Arm Hula Hoop (performed with arm moving away from body) x :20 reps

 

• This is an exercise I borrowed from Jim Radcliffe, the University of Oregon’s Head Strength Coach, as it gets the rotator cuff muscles to fire to stabilize the head of humerus during activity.
•  The athlete assumes a half kneeling position and slides a small hula hoop on their arm, situating it slightly past their wrist. They are instructed to initiate a small circular motion of the arm to keep the hula hoop moving in place for the prescribed amount of time.

 

Alternatively, banded distraction or perturbation exercises (1) can be used as long as good posture is maintained and the shoulder blade is packed in place, allowing for the humerus to move more freely.

 

Contrast Plank Push Ups x 5 reps

 

• The first rep involves holding a plank, retracting the shoulder blades as you descend to the floor for five seconds, hovering above the floor for one second before returning to starting position.
• The second rep involves holding a plank, retracting the shoulder blades as you descend to the floor for four seconds, hovering above the floor for one second before returning to starting position.
• The third rep involves holding a plank, retracting the shoulder blades as you descend to the floor for three seconds, hovering above the floor for one second before returning to starting position.
• The fourth rep involves holding a plank, retracting the shoulder blades as you descend to the floor for two seconds, hovering above the floor for one second before returning to starting position.
• The fifth rep involves holding a plank, retracting the shoulder blades as you descend to the floor for one second, hovering above the floor for one second before returning to starting position.

 

At this point, you should be ready to begin your warm up sets of bench, overhead press, or begin tossing a ball.

 

If you’re a throwing athlete, competitive strength athlete, or someone who enjoys lifting, you can prolong your athletic / lifting career by considering the aforementioned guidelines I’ve provided you in warming up your shoulder.

 

References

 

1. Day A, Taylor NF, Green RA. The stabilizing role of the rotator cuff at the shoulder- responses to external pertubations. Clin Biomech. 2012;27:551-556.

 

2. Hawkes DH, Alizadehkhaiyat O, Kemp GJ, et al. Shoulder muscle activation and coordination in patients with a massive rotator cuff tear: an electromyographic study. J Ortho Res. 2012;30:1140-1146.]]>