HOW: Standing with your arms at your side, bring one arm up in front of you as high as you can, palm facing in.  Once you have your arm as high as you can, rotate your arm around to where your palm is facing out. As you rotate your arm out, rotate your arm and shoulder back until you can’t.  At that point, rotate your hand back to the starting position and reverse the motion.  

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your shoulder working.

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your chest facing forward. Don’t twist back towards the moving arm. Slow and controlled motion, this is not about how fast you move your shoulder.

HOW: Position yourself lying face down. Bring your arms up in a Y shape to where your elbows are above your shoulder and elbows bent to 90 degrees. Rotate your hands and have your thumbs up and have your hands almost touching above your head creating a diamond shape. From here, squeeze your shoulder blade muscles lifting your elbows off of the ground and back down in a slow and controlled motion.

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your shoulder blades working when you squeeze them together. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep your elbows above your shoulders at all times. Keep your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Make sure to engage your shoulder blade muscles to lift your elbows up.

HOW: Start in a tall plank position. Then, push the ground away from you forwards/upwards which will cause your hips to rise up in the air. For those familiar with yoga, it is like a down dog position. The key is that your shoulders are doing the work!

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your shoulder working, especially in your shoulder blades under your arm-pit.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not push back simply by moving your hips backwards. Actively drive your hands into the ground and use your shoulders to perform the movement.

HOW:  Stand holding onto a resistance band wrapped around your feet. While holding onto the resistance band, brings your arm slightly out, then pull your shoulder blades up and back. Control the motion down and repeat.

 

FEEL:  You will feel the muscles on the top back portion of the shoulder blade working with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATION:  Avoid bending the elbow or arching the neck as you perform this exercise.

HOW: Start in the split stance position with the leg closest to the wall/anchor in front of you. Your back heel should be up. Grab the band with your close arm palm down, and your far arm palm up. Keeping your core and hips engaged and strong the whole time, slowly lift the band up in a diagonal pattern using a combination of both of your shoulders, your hips, and your core.

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your core, hips, shoulders and legs working.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lean into the band. If someone were to cut the band randomly when performing the exercise, you should not fall over!

HOW: Start by lying on your back looping a band around the bottom of one of your feet. Hold onto the other end of the band with the hand on the same side. Bring your elbow up straight out from your shoulder.  Release the tension in the band by bending your knee up as you rotate your arm back creating an “L” shape on the ground. Straighten your leg to create tension in the band as you let the band rotate your shoulder back down, slowly. 

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your shoulder working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Keep the elbow out from your shoulder and that 90 degree bend the whole time. Make sure to only have tension in the band as the elbow rotates up, not back.

HOW: Get a band set-up anchored at shoulder height. While holding the ends of the band in each hand, you’re going to perform a bow & arrow movement while also stepping and rotating to the same side. For example, on the left, you will drive the left elbow back towards your shoulder while keeping your elbow at shoulder height. In the finished position, your hand should be ear height. Think about squeezing your shoulder blade back to drive the motion and stay strong in your wrist. Rotate your upper body to the same side as you simultaneously perform the motion and step. Perform on both sides.

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in the back of your shoulder and shoulder blade driving the motion.

 

COMPENSATION: The goal is to keep your shoulder still and stabilized as you perform the workout. Do not shrug your shoulder, let your shoulder roll forward, or flare your elbow high. Try to keep your elbow at shoulder height. Do not compensate at your wrist.

HOW: Start in a tall plank position. Then, push the ground away from you forwards/upwards which will cause your hips to rise up in the air. For those familiar with yoga, it is like a down dog position. The key is that your shoulders are doing the work!

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your shoulder working, especially in your shoulder blades under your arm-pit.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not push back simply by moving your hips backwards. Actively drive your hands into the ground and use your shoulders to perform the movement.

HOW: Get a band or cable anchored somewhere between waist and shoulder height. While standing perpendicular to the anchor and holding the handle with both hands, press your arms forward away from your chest until your elbows are fully straight. Hold this position as you step out and away from the anchor while keeping your hips and shoulders square facing forward, then step back in, and repeat.

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and back muscles working as well as your arm muscles to maintain optimal position and form. You may also feel your hip and thigh muscles working as well to maintain position.

 

COMPENSATION: You should step away from the anchor until there is enough resistance that is challenging, but not too hard where you can’t maintain optimal form. Do not let the band rotate your upper body, keep your arms straight and hips facing forward. Try to avoid twisting your back.