The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. They play a major role in stabilizing the shoulder joint during everyday life and exercise. Strengthening the rotator cuff helps your body rely on the muscles instead of cartilage and ligaments.
Like the rotator cuff, your shoulder blade plays a large role in shoulder mobility. In fact, if you didn't have a shoulder blade you would find it very hard to raise your arm above 45 degrees. By working on the stability of the scapula, it is possible to improve the strength and range of motion of the shoulder.
Keep in mind this post is meant to increase the stability of the shoulder, and while many of these exercises are implemented in a shoulder rehabilitation, this post is not meant to help with any specific injuries. If you have a specific injury please see your doctor or a therapist. In a healthy shoulder none of these exercises should cause pain, so if you feel pain doing any of these exercises stop immediately and see your doctor.
Internal Rotation: Internal rotation of the shoulder activates your subscapularis (one of the muscles of the rotator cuff). You can perform internal rotation using a band or a cable machine at a gym. Hold the handle or the band in your hand with your thumb up and your elbow at your side. If you are using your left hand, the band should be outward from your body on the left side. If you feel pressure on your elbow, use a towel rolled up between your elbow and your body. Keep your elbow close to your side and bent to 90 degrees, and pull the cable or band across your body so that your hand touches the opposite side of your waist, like in the picture below.
External Rotation: This is the opposite of internal rotation (Duh). The starting position is the same as it was for internal rotation, with the exception that the band/cable should be crossing in front of your body. Keeping your thumb up, you move your arm away from your body like the picture below shows. This exercise helps to activate your infraspinatus (another muscle in the rotator cuff group)
Scapular Pushups/ Scapular Punches: This exercise works primarily the serratus anterior (yet another stabilizer) which helps out with your shoulder blades. You can do this exercise with your body weight in push up position, or against a wall, or with a cable machine or band, or laying on your back with a weight in your hand (there are a crap ton of options - in my opinion laying on your back is the easiest to start with). To perform this exercise you should be holding the weight in your hand with your arm at 90 degrees to your body, straight out in front of you, with your elbow straight. Then you want to push your shoulder forward without twisting your torso or bending your elbow. It's a subtle movement, and it's not going to move very far, so don't expect a lot here. After you push the shoulder forward, you can either return to the starting position or continue the motion so that your shoulder also goes back, still keeping your arm straight.
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| in this one notice the shoulders are coming back all the way like I mentioned |
Scapular Pull Downs: This is another subtle movement, so it may take a bit of practice. The easiest way is to stand with your arms at your side. Don't move your arm or your torso, but pull your shoulder blades down towards your butt. Again, subtle, it's not gonna be a ton of movement. When you get really good at the movement, you can add resistance by doing this on a lat pull down machine, or as pull ups when you become very advanced. Remember, you're not actually doing a pull up or a lat pull down, you're just trying to move your shoulder blades. The picture below shows the starting and finishing position for the movement (the picture shows the pull-up version, but the movement itself is the same no matter how you do it).
Cat and Camel/Cow Stretches: This stretch is meant to help increase the range of motion in your upper back while also improving the quality of movement between your shoulder blades, the shoulder joint, and ribs. It can also help relax your back muscles. Start on your hands and knees with your back straight. You want to then push your back up to the ceiling, separating your shoulder blades apart. Push as high up as you can without lifting your hands off the floor. Next, sink your chest down to the ground so that your shoulder blades move as close together as you can. Remember that this is a stretch and should not feel painful. Repeat this for a few minutes, and you should feel your upper back loosen up.
Various Rows: Rows can work your rhomboids, which are muscles in your back between your shoulder blades that can help to improve posture and stabilize your scapula. Two of the more common rows are a seated cable row or a dumbell row.
Regardless of what type of row you are doing, you want to make sure your back is straight.
Start with your arms straight, then pull the weight towards your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
"T's" Y's" and "I's": These are actually three separate exercises. They help to activate the rotator cuff, and also the deltoid muscles. They can be deceptively difficult, so start with about 2.5 pounds. You lay with your stomach on a bench (depending on the height of the bench - you may have to place it on a slant to give your arms room to move) and the weight in your hands with your arms straight. To perform a "T", start with your arms out straight in front of you at a 90 degree angle, then move them outward so you make a plus sign (+). Make sure you are laying on your stomach so that you are resisting gravity. To make a "Y", start in the same position as the "T", then move your arms up and out to 45 degree angle - just like the "Y" in the YMCA dance (and you thought that 5th grade dances wouldn't come in handy). The "I" has the same starting position as the first two, and then you raise your arms straight up so that they are directly over your head, making your body a straight line. The picture below shows the starting position for "Y" (A) "T" (B) and a modification for "I" (C).
I hope this post was informative and helpful for you guys. As always, if you have any questions or would like elaboration feel free to comment at the bottom!
*Note: This post is meant to increase the stability of the shoulder joint. If you have or think that you have a shoulder injury or pain in the shoulder joint you should see your doctor before performing any of these exercises.*
Cat and Camel/Cow Stretches: This stretch is meant to help increase the range of motion in your upper back while also improving the quality of movement between your shoulder blades, the shoulder joint, and ribs. It can also help relax your back muscles. Start on your hands and knees with your back straight. You want to then push your back up to the ceiling, separating your shoulder blades apart. Push as high up as you can without lifting your hands off the floor. Next, sink your chest down to the ground so that your shoulder blades move as close together as you can. Remember that this is a stretch and should not feel painful. Repeat this for a few minutes, and you should feel your upper back loosen up.
Various Rows: Rows can work your rhomboids, which are muscles in your back between your shoulder blades that can help to improve posture and stabilize your scapula. Two of the more common rows are a seated cable row or a dumbell row.
Regardless of what type of row you are doing, you want to make sure your back is straight.
Start with your arms straight, then pull the weight towards your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
"T's" Y's" and "I's": These are actually three separate exercises. They help to activate the rotator cuff, and also the deltoid muscles. They can be deceptively difficult, so start with about 2.5 pounds. You lay with your stomach on a bench (depending on the height of the bench - you may have to place it on a slant to give your arms room to move) and the weight in your hands with your arms straight. To perform a "T", start with your arms out straight in front of you at a 90 degree angle, then move them outward so you make a plus sign (+). Make sure you are laying on your stomach so that you are resisting gravity. To make a "Y", start in the same position as the "T", then move your arms up and out to 45 degree angle - just like the "Y" in the YMCA dance (and you thought that 5th grade dances wouldn't come in handy). The "I" has the same starting position as the first two, and then you raise your arms straight up so that they are directly over your head, making your body a straight line. The picture below shows the starting position for "Y" (A) "T" (B) and a modification for "I" (C).
I hope this post was informative and helpful for you guys. As always, if you have any questions or would like elaboration feel free to comment at the bottom!
*Note: This post is meant to increase the stability of the shoulder joint. If you have or think that you have a shoulder injury or pain in the shoulder joint you should see your doctor before performing any of these exercises.*
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