Here's How to Create Strong, Healthy, and Powerful Shoulders - Part 1

Overhead presses. Bench presses. Pull ups. Back squats. Deadlifts. Olympic lifts.

What do they all have in common?

They all look pretty impressive when you can do them with some serious weight. That, and you generally need to have pretty good shoulder control in order to do them properly.

Most things pale in comparison when it comes to shoulder health. Seeing as many of the reasons why people take time off the gym are related to shoulder issues. So today we’re going to talk about how to create strong and healthy shoulders that can also become powerful as f**k in the first of a four-part series.

We’ll look at everything from a common cause of shoulder issues, how to work through them, how to create better movement in the shoulders, how to strengthen the living sh*t out of them, and how to develop some serious power out of those puppies. Your shoulders are going to look and feel very saucy after this read - assuming you actually apply this information.

Positioning Matters...A lot.

In order for your shoulders to be healthy, they have to actually move properly. In order to move properly, they need to be in the right position to facilitate good quality movement. Are we still on the same page?

I'll often see people with low thoracic spine or mid back mobility, resulting in a lot of lumbar spine or low back extension to compensate.

Lumbar vs. Thoracic (T-spine) Extension Credit: Tony Gentilcore

Overextending through the lower back is not uncommon in the fitness world, but using it excessively during exercise does have its consequences. Lower back pain, compensations in other areas, and unnatural movement can all result from not learning how to control your spine, hip, and shoulder movement.

Even experienced lifters sometimes use their low back during exercises they should know how to do properly. While there are benefits to creating low back extension in some circles like powerlifting (to help create leg drive), it is not considered a good thing in general fitness.

While powerlifters may benefit from creating a huge arch with their body because it helps push the chest higher to the bar allowing them to move more weight a shorter distance, it doesn’t bode well for the average exerciser. The ones who are simply looking to create a stronger, healthier, and pain free body would be better off learning to move well. There is a reason most powerlifters are stuck walking around like a peacock, it's not because they're just showing off...or maybe it's that as well.

This extreme extension can create instability in the muscles supporting your spine and an inability to activate the glute (butt) muscles properly and result in a lot more injuries.

What Does T-spine Movement Have to do with Shoulder Health?

As I mentioned above, positioning matters a lot - probably more than you can imagine.

The reality is, without proper movement, muscle activation is limited and the potential for injury sky rockets. Why minimize your gains and maximize your risk of getting hurt for no reason?

Around the 0:47 second mark in the video, you can see the humerus (arm bone) moving up and down the side of the rib cage. You can also see the acromioclavicular joint (shown below) which, when consistently being exercised in a slumped shoulder position, can cause a lot of problems and pain. The movement tells us a couple things:

1. In order for the arm to reach overhead without any barriers, there needs to be some extension in the mid back

2. A lot of inflammation and bursa issues can be traced back to improper movement in the shoulder blade

3. Thoracic spine mobility would help minimize the risk of many of these issues

Minimizing the likeliness of shoulder problems comes down to many aspects, but today we'll cover some simple thoracic spine mobility drills for you to have complete control over your upper body.

Thoracic Extensions on Foam Roller

Key Points:

• Set the roller just below the bottom of the shoulder blade

• Keep a slight brace on the abs to prevent using the low back to extend

• Elbows in

• Instead of leading with the head, push your shoulders to the ground

• Exhale with a relaxing breath when leaning back

• Pause at the bottom for 1-2 seconds

• Focus on where you are feeling tension (shoulder be in the mid back, just under the shoulder blades)

• Reset to the original position

Scapular Pushups

Key Points:

• Hands directly under or slightly in front of the shoulders

• Pull the torso into a neutral position (rib cage neutral - or ribs not flaring out)

• Pull neck tucked and pulled back to the ceiling

• Keep a slight brace around the midsection

• Push chest to the ground by having it "drop" between the shoulder blades

• Keep some tension on the lats (pull the shoulder blades towards your bum)

• Pull chest to the ceiling while allowing the shoulder blades to move forward to the ground (think push yourself away from the ground)

• Reset to original position

4 Point T-spine Rotations

Key Points:

• Start with toes curled in to the ground, neutral rib position (ribs not flaring out), hands under or slightly in front of the shoulders

• Place the hand behind the head (fingers on the back on the head)

• Inhale a deep breath

• Rotate your torso and elbow together outward towards the ceiling

• Extend the upper back (push your chest away from the ground)

• Hold stretch for 1-2 seconds at the top and focus on what you're feeling during the movement

• Rotate the torso and elbow towards the arm still placed on the ground

• Tuck elbow underneath opposing arm and push the shoulder blade towards the stationary arm

• Hold for 1-2 seconds and focus on what you're feeling

• Reset to original position

These three exercises encompass multiple planes of motion the body needs to move in. You get extension, flexion, and rotation in as little as 3 minutes.

To keep the shoulders healthy, they need to move well. In order for the shoulders to move well, they need to be in the right position to facilitate proper movement. These thoracic spine exercises will help you be able to move the shoulder blades around the rib cage to create the proper positioning for good, healthy shoulder movement.

Tune in next week for Part 2 of How to Create Strong, Healthy, and Powerful Shoulders!

#strong #healthy #powerful #shoulders #thoracic #spine