Free Your Shoulders – Flexion & Extension Exercises
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Are your shoulders stiff? Shoulder stiffness can impact your posture, your movement patterns, and create greater susceptibility to injury. Our modern lives, even active lifestyles, rarely include full range of motion shoulder exercises, so corrective exercises can be very helpful.
In this guide, we’ll test your range of motion, then learn a very simple set of postures to free up your overhead and behind your back ranges. With stretching, commitment is key, and a small daily routine will deliver better results, particularly in the short term. As a starting schedule, if you set aside 10 minutes daily for the next four weeks, you’ll likely see noticeable changes.
To get the full benefits of these poses you’ll need to apply the three key principles of the Science of Stretching method when practicing. These are:
1. Wet noodle – relax your muscles fully. Muscles stretch best when fully relaxed.
2. Breathe to relax – inhale through your nose to the count of four, exhale through your mouth with a “ha” sound for eight. This turns off your body’s stretch reflex.
3. Time under passive tension – hold the pose for at least two minutes.
Test Your Range of Motion
Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body, and we’ll test your range in the two areas that tend to cause the most problems: flexion (lifting your arms above your head) and extension (arms behind you).
Flexion Test
- Stand with your back to a wall
- Step your feet hip-width apart
- Press your legs and bum into the wall
- Extend your arms in front of you and lift them above your head
- See whether you can press your entire back, including your arms and your thumbs, into the wall. Most people get stuck here
Hyperextension Test
- Stand with your arms at your sides
- Reach them back behind you
- Interlace your hands and try to straighten your arms with your palms touching flat
- Most people get stuck with their palms separated or elbows bent
Shoulder Anatomy
Your shoulder is the most mobile joint in your body and has the widest range of motion. But this flexibility makes it susceptible to injury. To avoid issues, it’s crucial to maintain strength, stretching, and mobility in your shoulders.
An interesting aspect of your shoulder area is the ligamental roof, known as the coracoacromial ligament, located near the top. This ligament can deteriorate, stiffen, or even collapse if it isn’t adequately exercised, particularly through overhead arm movements. In this video we’ll focus on enhancing space in this area. Additionally, we’ll aim to elongate the muscles in your armpits, lats, and teres major. We’ll also work on the rotator cuffs and smaller muscles around your shoulders, especially as we engage in hyperextension movements.
Mobility Exercise Routine
This simple, 10-minute exercise routine targets the key muscles in your shoulder area as well as some in your upper arms, armpits, and back. Just remember to always practice this type of deep stretching after, never before, any other exercise. Practicing before bed is best as the combination of passive stretching and breathing exercise will set you up for a good night’s sleep.
Hang Therapy Practice
- Hang from a pull-up bar or place your fingers over an open door in your house
- Take a wide grip and load up about 50 percent of your body weight into your arms, using your legs to throttle the intensity
- Hold for 30 seconds
- Release, take a break, repeat four times
NOTE: over time you can scale up and eventually take your full body weight, but ease into this, not only to give your shoulders time to adjust, but also your grip strength, forearms, and wrists.
Puppy Hang
- Drop down onto your knees, big toes touching behind you, knees wide apart
- Hinge forward and place your hands on a low stool or coffee table in front of you
- Spread your fingers and keep your arms mostly straight, a slight bend is OK
- Drop your head and fully relax here for two minutes, breathing through your nose for four, and out through your mouth with a “ha” sound for eight
- Slowly make your way up and shake your arms out
Shoulder Pow
- From seated, place your right arm in the air, holding a strap in your hand
- Bend your elbow and reach down behind you
- Reach back behind you with your left arm and clasp the strap behind your back, so you’re holding it with both hands
- If you can, walk your hands closer together
- If your fingers can reach and you don’t need a strap, clasp your hands together
- Gently lean your head and arm back, without forcing your neck, for an added stretch
- Relax and hold here for two minutes, breathing in through your nose to the count of four and out through your mouth for eight
- Slowly release, shake it out, switch sides and repeat
Note: in this pose you might find your right elbow pointing forward. If so, loosen your grip on the strap a little, so that your elbow points up towards the sky. It’s OK if it’s still angled, but not pointing towards the ground.
Safety Disclaimer
This guide is for educational purposes only. If you have serious shoulder discomfort or pain, see a doctor to rule out a serious before starting any self-care practices.
Want to Learn More?
- YOGABODY Daily program
- YOGABODY YouTube Channel (free to subscribe)
- The Lucas Rockwood Show Podcast
