Four Easy Ways To Better Shoulder Mobility

Shoulders are important, and often neglected by women who do not generally have the same social impetus to have large shoulders as men do.

But, size won’t happen by accident, so please do train strength, because yes, strength is necessary for mobility. And why is strength necessary?

Think of it this way: if your car has wheels but no engine power, then it can be moved by outside forces yes, but it’s not really fulfilling the job requirements of “automobile“, is it?

Same deal with your shoulders. If your shoulders can be moved through a range of motion much further than they have the power to move themselves, then that’s not mobility, that’s hypermobility and it’s a liability.

That’s how you end up pulling a muscle while reaching something from a high shelf.

So instead…

From the thoracic up

Here are four easy ways to do it:

• Dumbbell pullover: lie on a bench with your feet on the floor and your lower back in neutral. Hold a dumbbell above your chest with a slight bend in your elbows, then lower the weight behind your head in an arc while keeping your core tight so your ribs and hip bones draw towards each other; avoid letting your lower back over-arch so your lats stay stretched. Exhale as you bring the weight back above your chest, to build lat, chest, thoracic, and shoulder strength and mobility.
• Hand-elevated push-up: put your hands on yoga blocks set slightly wider than your shoulders. Keep your shoulders over your wrists and your tailbone slightly tucked, and lower your chest between the blocks to put your pecs and delts into a deeper stretch than a regular push-up, increasing strength through a fuller range.
• Around the world: stand tall with dumbbells at your sides, palms forwards; keep a soft bend in your elbows as you draw wide circles up until the weights meet overhead. Let your shoulder blades move naturally—starting low, rising into elevation as your arms pass shoulder height, then lowering again on the return, to strengthen your rotator cuff and expand your shoulder mobility beyond a standard lateral raise.
• Y-shaped chest fly: lie on a bench with feet planted on the floor; hold dumbbells in a slight V-shape with palms facing your head; keep your core tight and lower your arms into a wide Y-shape to stretch your chest fully; squeeze your mid-chest to bring the weights back over your chest. This one’s an excellent antidote for desk, car, and couch postures, by the way.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Shoulder Mobility Hack (Measurable Results In 60 Seconds)

Take care!