(Flexibility) Exercise > Stretches >

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Closed chain scapular control ∞

Against a mirror or wall, position the arms out front and practice:

1. protraction (lengthening)

   • Reach forward and round your back as though you are in an over-extended pushup.

2. retraction

   • Push your body forward, leaving your shoulders in place so they stick out behind you.

3. elevation and retraction

   • As above, with your shoulders up

4. depression and retraction

   • As above, with your shoulders down

5. internal rotation and elevation

   • Reach your hands out, and rotate your thumbs down (left hand goes clockwise, right hand goes counter-clockwise). Elbows tend to come out. Notice how your shoulders naturally want to lift up.

6. external rotation and depression

   • Reach your hands out, and rotate your thumbs up (left hand goes counter-clockwise, right hand goes clockwise). Elbows tend to reach together. Notice how your shoulders naturally want to push down.

? Hold for how long?

Sleeper stretch ∞

1. Lie on your side with your bottom arm against the floor, perpendicular to your body.

   • So you’re reaching out in front of you, away from your chest.

2. Flex the elbow to 90 degrees.

   • So your forearm is basically coming up across your chest.

3. Relax your arm

   • It tends to flop down towards your waist

4. Use the top arm to push the bottom forearm toward the floor.

   • So you’re pushing your bottom arm even more toward your waist

? Hold for how long?

Horizontal adduction stretch ∞

1. Stand and keep your shoulders relaxed and square
2. Reach one arm in front and across your body
3. Using your non-reaching arm, you can either grasp your reaching arm by the wrist, or you can hold your reaching arm at about the tricep area in whatever way you wish.
4. Gently pull your wrist forward, or otherwise help lengthen your reach

5. Take a deep breath in to feel a stretch in the back of the shoulder joint

Release from this stretch slowly and gently.

? Hold for how long?

Pec stretch ∞

1. Stand facing a corner or at a doorway

2. Place one hand on each wall at shoulder height.

   • You can do this with outreached hands, or you can bend your arms so that your forearms are supporting you.

3. Lean your chest forward, keeping your upper body tall

You should feel a stretch in the front of your chest

Tricep stretch ∞

1. Stand
2. Raise one arm
3. Bend that arm so that your elbow is still sticking straight up and your hand comes down behind you
4. Using your non-stretching arm, reach over your head and grab your stretching-arm’s elbow.

5. Gently pull back to increase the tension in your tricep muscle

Apley’s towel stretch ∞

1. Stand and place one hand down and behind your back, as though you wanted to scratch your lower back
2. With your other arm, reach up and behind your head and dangle a towel down from the back of your neck.
3. Grasp the towel with your lower arm

4. Gently pull your lower arm up using your upper arm.

   • The towel should be kept in a vertical position.

TODO ∞

• Scapular Stabilization

  • Field goal exercise
  • Blackburn exercise
  • Seated push-ups

• Rotator Cuff

  • Side lying abduction
  • Side lying external rotation
  • Subscapularis pull

Crazy shoulder stretch ∞

• Gently extend both arms in front of you.
• Turn your palms up.
• Gently move your hands closer together.
• Take one elbow and extend it over the other elbow. Your extending arm’s shoulder will extend noticeably.
• Bend your arms upwards, and try to clasp your hands together (I can’t do this)

• Raise and extend your elbows outwards. Try to keep your arms together as one unit.

The stretch will be felt across the outsides of the shoulders along the outside edges of the upper chest.