This week I am sharing 5 advanced exercises for shoulder health. Many of these exercises also improve lumbo-pelvic stability, and grip strength.
#1) Single Leg Isometric Glute Bridge + Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Screwdrivers + Single Leg Lowering
This exercise provides a huge bang for your buck, and strengthens the glutes, improves lumbo-pelvic stability, shoulder and scapular stability, and grip strength.
Coaching Tips:
- Set yourself up as you would when you are performing regular glute bridges.
- Place your shin in a relatively vertical position.
- Hold a kettlebell in a bottoms-up position, and perform a bottoms-up press. Make sure your shoulder blade remains in a protracted position for the duration for the exercise (move it away from your spine and around your ribcage).
- Take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
- Now extend your hips by pressing through the back portion of your foot and squeezing your glutes, NOT by arching your lower back. This is important. Your body should form a straight line from your knee to shoulders. For the duration of the exercise, keep your body in this position.
- Extend your other leg so it is in a vertical position. If you cannot fully extend your knee, or if you are unable to maintain proper form, you can modify and keep your knee bent at a 90 degree angle.
- Contract your core muscles (360 degree brace), and slowly lower your leg to a range that allows you to maintain proper form. Once you hit your end range, return your leg back to the starting position.
- As you are performing the leg lowering movement, steadily exhale through your mouth.
- For the duration of the exercise, perform kettlebell screwdrivers. In the starting position your palm should be in a neutral position. While looking at the kettlebell the entire time, rotate your wrist, forearm and elbow so your palm is facing away from you. Pause for a count, then perform the reverse movements and rotate the kettlebell so your palm is facing you.
- For the duration of the exercise, aside from the moving leg, your body should remain in a relatively fixed position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, ribcage to flare, torso, spine, or hips to rotate, or hips to drop.
#2) Overhead Barbell Hold + Hanging Kettlebells
This exercise improves shoulder and scapular stability, lumbo-pelvic stability, and grip strength. In this variation I am only adding the resistance to one side of the barbell. This makes the exercise extremely anti-lateral flexion in nature.
Coaching Tips:
- Hang a band around one end of a barbell, and attach a kettlebell to the band. Press the barbell into an overhead position (or start with barbell in an overhead position). Once you are in the overhead position, your entire body should remain in a fixed position.
- Keep the barbell over your head. It should not drift ahead or behind of your body. Keep your wrists in a neutral position. Now hold for the target length of time.
- For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your lower back to hyperextend or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
- For the duration of the exercise, maintain a 360 degree brace, and squeeze your glutes. In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
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#3) Feet Elevated Weight Transfers From Plank
This exercise improves lumbo-pelvic stability, and shoulder and scapular stability (and controlled mobility on the moving side).
You may also do this exercise using a dumbbell or other weighted object.
Make sure you can do the exercise properly from the floor before you do this more advanced variation.
Coaching Tips:
- Get into a plank position, and elevate your feet on a bench or box. Your body should be in a straight line from your head to heels.
- Your shoulders should be above your hands.
- Place a kettlebell (or dumbbell) on one side of your body, and so it’s directly below your shoulder.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around the spine), brace your core (360 degree brace), and squeeze your glutes.
- Now pass the kettlebell to the opposite side of your body. Repeat using the opposite arm.
- In terms of your shoulder/shoulder blade on the planted side, do not mindlessly hang out. Press your body away from the floor and protract your shoulder blade (move it away from the spine and around your ribcage).
- For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from your head to heels. Do not let your lower back hyperextend, ribcage flare, torso, spine or hips rotate, weight shift from foot to foot, and do not let your hips pike or collapse.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
#4) Advanced TRX Serratus Slide Bear Crawl Combo
This exercise strengthens the serratus muscle, improves shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, and lumbo-pelvic stability. The serratus helps upwardly rotate and protract the shoulder blades.
Coaching Tips:
- Get into a bear crawl position. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position. Tuck your chin, and keep your neck in a neutral position.
- Place your thighs so they are in a vertical position, bend your knees, and keep them a few inches above the floor.
- Adopt your preferred foot width. You may place your feet so they are together, shoulder width apart, or somewhere in between. The farther apart your feet are, the more stable your base will be.
- Place the straps of the TRX around your forearms and bend your elbows to about 90 degrees. Your forearms should be parallel in width.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), tuck your ribs towards your hips (close the space in your midsection), and squeeze your glutes.
- Before you perform the “slide” and extend your arms, lightly and deliberately press your body away from the straps of the TRX and protract your shoulder blades. Think about spreading your shoulder blades apart and moving them away from your spine and around your ribcage.
- Now, extend your arms and slide them towards a wall/ceiling. As you are doing so, simultaneously extend your knees. During this component of the exercise your shoulder blades should upwardly rotate and protract. Do not keep your shoulder blades pinned.
- Once you have hit your end range (a range where you are able to maintain proper form), perform the reverse movements and return to the starting position. As you are doing so, your shoulder blades should perform the reverse movements as they did when you were extending your arms, and should downwardly rotate and retract.
- For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso and hips should remain in a stacked position (and in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels when your legs are fully extended). Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, ribcage to flare, torso, spine or hips to rotate, weight to shift from foot to foot, or hips to pike or collapse.
- In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
#5) Bottoms-Up Overhead Presses From L-Sit
This exercise requires a lot of lumbo-pelvic stability and is extremely anti-extension in nature. The bottoms-up kettlebell presses also improve upper body strength, shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, and grip strength.
Coaching Tips:
- Sit on the floor and fully extend your knees. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position.
- Hold two kettlebells in a bottoms-up position.
- Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace), and squeeze your glutes.
- Now press the kettlebells overhead. Do not move the weights overhead by hyperextending your lower back and flaring your ribcage, excessively shrugging your shoulders, or laterally flexing your spine.
- In the top position, your arms should resemble close to a straight line, and your biceps should be in close proximity to your ears.
- Pause for a count and gain control.
- Now “row” the kettlebells back down to the starting position. Do not keep your shoulder blades pinned. They are meant to move. As you are performing the press, your shoulder blades should upwardly rotate and protract. During the lowering component your shoulder blades should perform the reverse movements.
- In the bottom position, your elbows should remain at approximately a 45-60 degree angle with your torso.
- For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso, and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.
- In terms of breathing, do out what works and feels best for you. I prefer to exhale just after I’ve initiated the pressing movement, and will inhale as my arm is returning to the starting position.
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