Do these shoulder exercises today
What's the story
Improving shoulder mobility is key to ensure the health of your upper body and to prevent injuries.
A good range of motion in the shoulders can improve your performance in a variety of physical activities and daily tasks.
By adding certain exercises into your routine, you can improve the flexibility, strength, and endurance of the shoulder muscles.
Here are five effective exercises to boost your shoulder's range of motion.
Arm circles
Arm circles for flexibility
Arm circles are an easy but effective exercise to enhance shoulder flexibility.
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, extend arms out to the sides at shoulder height, and make small circles with your hands.
Gradually increase the size of the circles as you feel more comfortable.
Do this for about one minute in each direction to warm up shoulders and improve mobility.
Pass-throughs
Shoulder pass-throughs with a stick
Using a stick or a resistance band, perform shoulder pass-throughs to stretch and mobilize the shoulders.
Hold the stick with both hands wider than shoulder-width apart, lift it over your head and behind your back while keeping arms straight.
Bring it back over your head to return to starting position.
Repeat this movement 10 times to improve flexibility.
Wall angels
Wall angels for posture improvement
Wall angels serve to fix your posture by activating several muscles around the shoulders and upper back.
Stand against a wall with feet slightly away from it, press lower back into the wall, raise arms so elbows are at 90 degrees against the wall, then slide them as high as possible without losing contact with the wall.
Repeat ten times slowly.
Thread-the-needle
Thread-the-needle stretch for rotational mobility
This stretch targets rotational mobility in shoulders and spine.
Start on all fours. Slide your right arm under your left arm while lowering your right shoulder towards the floor.
Continue until you feel a stretch across your upper back.
Hold briefly before returning to the start position.
Switch sides after completing the desired reps, usually eight per side.
Doorway stretch
Doorway stretch for chest opening
The doorway stretch opens up chest muscles which often lead to restricted shoulder movement when tight there.
This is because of its connection through pectoral region which impacts scapula positioning during overhead activities like reaching upwards, etc.
Stand inside a doorway, forearms against the frame, elbows bent at ninety degrees.
Lean forward gently till feeling mild tension. Hold for 15 seconds. Repeat thrice daily if needed.