Two awesome exercises for shoulder flexibility

[brikis98]

A few years ago, I stupidly did a routine that focused way too much on bench press without nearly enough pulling or overhead work to compensate. The (predictable) results included me losing a lot of the ROM in my shoulder girdle, as well as weird rotator cuff injuries. I've slowly been working to rebuild my shoulder flexibility and have found these two exercises to be particularly helpful:

Wall Extensions: I just learned about these the other day and while they look really easy, I found that a set of 10 of these was incredibly tough. I couldn't get my arms anywhere near vertical while keeping them in contact with the wall and my deltoids were burning quite a bit as I did these. These make it really clear why I struggle to maintain good form on the OH press: I'm not only fighting the weight on the bar, but my own flexibility too.

Shoulder Dislocates: a nicely scalable exercise that always makes my shoulders feel much more loose and relaxed. Before I started doing these, I could not do an overhead squat (or snatch) as I could not get my shoulders to rotate into the proper position. I'm getting better at it now, but I've still got a long way to go.

Anyways, I'm sure other people on this forum have shoulder issues, so give these exercises a shot and see how they work for you.

 

[Deeko]

haha there is not a chance in hell I could do the second one

 

[TallBill]

I like the shoulder dislocates, but I'm not super flexible so finding a rod long enough is tough. I'll give the first one a shot though. I'm constantly stretching/strengthening my shoulders after having so many problems.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Shoulder dislocates is very old and common exercise. My mom used to do these when she was in gymnastics in her teenage years.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Deeko
haha there is not a chance in hell I could do the second one

The further apart your hands are, the easier it is to do the exercise. If you can't do a even one rep with your hands at the very ends of a broomstick, you may need these shoulder exercises as much as anyone

 

[Deeko]

Oh yes I am very, very inflexible. Always have been.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Deeko
Oh yes I am very, very inflexible. Always have been.

I'm also naturally extremely inflexible and that, combined with years of a sedentary job (software engineer) and some improper training (such as too much bench press) only made this worse. For a long time, it made no real difference in my life, but once I got more serious with weightlifting, the lack of flexibility led to injury after injury. As mentioned earlier, I screwed up my rotator cuffs due to lack of shoulder flexibility and muscle imbalances. I injured my lower back a few times squatting/deadlifting due to extremely tight hamstrings that prevented me from maintaining a proper lumbar arch. I also had a few hip injuries due to the same tight hamstrings, as well as lack of flexibility in my back and glutes.

In every case, committing to stretching and increasing my flexibility has healed the injury and helped prevent it in the future. However, it's pretty damn clear I would've been far better off if I had stretched in the first place and avoided the injuries. As it is, even with much improved flexibility, I'm still far more prone to injuries in those areas than I'd like to be.

Anyways, it's all obvious stuff, but if you're going to be training for a powerlifting competition, it may be worth tossing in 15 minutes of stretching a few times a week. In the worst case, you won't see any difference. In the best case, it'll prevent some injuries and even improve your lifts by making it easier to use full ROM and maintain proper form.

 

[EvilYoda]

The pass-throughs are a biiiiiiiiitch. I haven't tried the first exercise though, I'll go do a few on the wall right now.

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: Deeko
Oh yes I am very, very inflexible. Always have been.

I'm also naturally extremely inflexible and that, combined with years of a sedentary job (software engineer) and some improper training (such as too much bench press) only made this worse. For a long time, it made no real difference in my life, but once I got more serious with weightlifting, the lack of flexibility led to injury after injury. As mentioned earlier, I screwed up my rotator cuffs due to lack of shoulder flexibility and muscle imbalances. I injured my lower back a few times squatting/deadlifting due to extremely tight hamstrings that prevented me from maintaining a proper lumbar arch. I also had a few hip injuries due to the same tight hamstrings, as well as lack of flexibility in my back and glutes.

In every case, committing to stretching and increasing my flexibility has healed the injury and helped prevent it in the future. However, it's pretty damn clear I would've been far better off if I had stretched in the first place and avoided the injuries. As it is, even with much improved flexibility, I'm still far more prone to injuries in those areas than I'd like to be.

Anyways, it's all obvious stuff, but if you're going to be training for a powerlifting competition, it may be worth tossing in 15 minutes of stretching a few times a week. In the worst case, you won't see any difference. In the best case, it'll prevent some injuries and even improve your lifts by making it easier to use full ROM and maintain proper form.

I actually do a decent amount of work on my shoulders - light, dynamic exercises with bands and cables - I had tendinitis in my right rotator cuff from volleyball in college, it was pretty nasty, I couldn't bench for two years because of it.

I really should do more stretching than I do though - especially my hamstrings, they're particularly tight.

 

[EvilYoda]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Originally posted by: brikis98

Originally posted by: Deeko
Oh yes I am very, very inflexible. Always have been.

I'm also naturally extremely inflexible and that, combined with years of a sedentary job (software engineer) and some improper training (such as too much bench press) only made this worse. For a long time, it made no real difference in my life, but once I got more serious with weightlifting, the lack of flexibility led to injury after injury. As mentioned earlier, I screwed up my rotator cuffs due to lack of shoulder flexibility and muscle imbalances. I injured my lower back a few times squatting/deadlifting due to extremely tight hamstrings that prevented me from maintaining a proper lumbar arch. I also had a few hip injuries due to the same tight hamstrings, as well as lack of flexibility in my back and glutes.

In every case, committing to stretching and increasing my flexibility has healed the injury and helped prevent it in the future. However, it's pretty damn clear I would've been far better off if I had stretched in the first place and avoided the injuries. As it is, even with much improved flexibility, I'm still far more prone to injuries in those areas than I'd like to be.

Anyways, it's all obvious stuff, but if you're going to be training for a powerlifting competition, it may be worth tossing in 15 minutes of stretching a few times a week. In the worst case, you won't see any difference. In the best case, it'll prevent some injuries and even improve your lifts by making it easier to use full ROM and maintain proper form.

I actually do a decent amount of work on my shoulders - light, dynamic exercises with bands and cables - I had tendinitis in my right rotator cuff from volleyball in college, it was pretty nasty, I couldn't bench for two years because of it.

I really should do more stretching than I do though - especially my hamstrings, they're particularly tight.

I've always been just above average for hamstring flexibility, but having done bikram yoga for the last 2 months has reeeeeeally helped.

 

[BeauJangles]

I'm inflexible too, but regular dislocates have helped my shoulders. I'm going to try out the 2nd exercise tonight.

Also, is it weird that I have a very deep squat, but can barely touch my toes (ie - only on good days)?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: BeauJangles
I'm inflexible too, but regular dislocates have helped my shoulders. I'm going to try out the 2nd exercise tonight.

Also, is it weird that I have a very deep squat, but can barely touch my toes (ie - only on good days)?

Depends how good your squat form is. How much does your deadlift suffer from having such inflexible hamstrings?

 

[brikis98]

Just did another set of 10 wall extensions today after my workout. These things nearly had me in tears. However, it really felt like the good kind of pain, and my shoulders felt great after.

Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Also, is it weird that I have a very deep squat, but can barely touch my toes (ie - only on good days)?

Not necessarily. How easy it is to get into a deep squat depends not only on flexibility, but also individual anthropometry - that is, the differences in the lengths of various parts of your body, such as your femur, tibia, spine, etc. Of course, good technique helps too.

The only thing I'd caution is to make sure that when you're in your deep squat position, you're still maintaining a proper lumbar arch. You might not even feel it - in fact, many people have no clue what their lower back is doing at any given moment - but tight hamstrings often lead to the pelvis being forced to roll down and under as a person gets deeper into a squat. This is nicknamed "butt wink" and while a little bit is usually not an issue, larger amounts may cause you to lose the proper arch in your lower back, which can be quite dangerous.

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: brikis98
The only thing I'd caution is to make sure that when you're in your deep squat position, you're still maintaining a proper lumbar arch.

One thing I never see mentioned is making sure your arch isn't too extreme: while losing your arch altogether is a more common problem, too much arch is not good either. This is especially problematic when your spinal erectors are stronger than your abs.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: presidentender

Originally posted by: brikis98
The only thing I'd caution is to make sure that when you're in your deep squat position, you're still maintaining a proper lumbar arch.

One thing I never see mentioned is making sure your arch isn't too extreme: while losing your arch altogether is a more common problem, too much arch is not good either. This is especially problematic when your spinal erectors are stronger than your abs.

Yep, I actually injured myself not very long ago by overstraining my lumbar arch. You have to find a nice balance. Keep the arch, but don't arch so hard that it hurts/feels strained/reduces flexibility dramatically.

 

[disports]

LOL, I just attempted one repetition of the wall extension. My body was so stiff and slightly shaking as I did it. hahah, but then again I shouldn't be so surprised, I'm so inflexible it's amazing. As for the second exercise, there's no way I'm getting it past my head.

 

[MotF Bane]

Originally posted by: smithrwon
LOL, I just attempted one repetition of the wall extension. My body was so stiff and slightly shaking as I did it. hahah, but then again I shouldn't be so surprised, I'm so inflexible it's amazing. As for the second exercise, there's no way I'm getting it past my head.

I said the exact same thing the first time too. Just keep widening your grip, it'll make it.

 

[geokilla]

You know, I tried doing that wall extensions, and I can barely keep my forearm touching the wall when I'm at 90 degrees, let alone when I'm trying to push up and "reach for the ceiling". My back feels so weird when I do it.

As for shoulder dislocations. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not since I don't feel as much of a burn as I do when I'm doing the wall extensions.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: geokilla
You know, I tried doing that wall extensions, and I can barely keep my forearm touching the wall when I'm at 90 degrees, let alone when I'm trying to push up and "reach for the ceiling". My back feels so weird when I do it.

As for shoulder dislocations. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not since I don't feel as much of a burn as I do when I'm doing the wall extensions.

I personally found shoulder dislocations a lot easier than the wall extensions. However, as you keep moving your hands closer together on shoulder dislocations, they should get a lot tougher. As for wall extensions, assuming you're doing them properly, it's probably just a sign that you really need to keep working on your shoulder flexibility.

 

[MotF Bane]

I can't even get my arms back against the wall for wall extensions. This is ridiculous. I'll be sticking with shoulder dislocations only for a while longer.