Shoulder pain when training in the gym doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to stop doing the exercises that don’t feel the most comfortable.
Shoulder blade/scapula mobility has a direct impact on how the ball and socket joint of your shoulder works. Keeping the shoulder blades well lubed as they move around the rib cage will have a positive impact on efficiency of any upper body/shoulder focused exercises and hopefully help your shoulders feel less cranky.
Here’s a few key areas that you can work on to positively impact your shoulder health, helping you feel better and lift heavier.
Seated Cat/Cow
Shoulder blade pinch with extension
Thoracic mobility is very closely linked to shoulder health and considering the majority of us spend most the day hunched over our keyboards at work, it’s a really good idea to do a couple of movements to counter act this.
Seated Chair Rotations
Thoracic Extension
Shoulder rotation is an area that we often forget about. Seen as though we tend to spend a large portion of our time stuck in internal rotation we want to make sure we are moving through both rotations, mobilising the areas that feel tight and firing up those that need an extra kick to better prepare us for lifting heavy in the gym!
Reach throughs with Ext Rotation
There is not one exercises that is superior to another to help with neck and shoulder pain, the key is finding the right exercise and in tensity that works for you.
Stiffness and lack of movement are usually the main culprit hindering your upper body exercises in the gym. So making sure you are getting up often enough at work and when you have an extra 5mins trying these 5 exercises to help keep everything mobile so when you next hit the gym the shoulders feel sweet!