4 Simple Exercises for Strengthening Shoulders

So, you go to the doctor and complain that your shoulder hurts whenever you spin on one hand and go into a reverse cartwheel. The doctor replies that maybe you shouldn't be doing that sort of thing. Well, doing what we do, you know that isn't going to happen. So how do you minimize this from happening?

To start - let's look at how the shoulder is built and then answer the question, "What the heck is the rotator cuff?" In a handstand, your shoulder is built with the head of the arm bone (humerus) sitting like a golf ball on a tee (in this case, the tee covers a bit more of the ball, but you get the picture).

In order to be able to move the arm, you have the muscles that everybody knows about, the pecs, delts, biceps, triceps, and traps. To hold the shoulder in the socket, you have 4 much smaller muscles that will be the focus of the exercises below. Those muscles are your rotator cuff.

Whether you have injured your shoulder or not, the exercises that are included will build strength and stability and are some of the ones that I have used to reduce shoulder pain after getting overly ambitious myself. Obviously, we want to build the bigger muscles, as they will be doing most of the work when our hands are on the ground.

As always, if you have pain in your shoulder, especially sharp pain, or if you have numbness going down your arm you need to be examined by your doctor. A lot of important things pass through the shoulder and it is pretty easy to complicate the picture with an injury. In addition, if you have more ambition than strength, you can damage your neck.

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shoulders be sure to learn about mastering queda de rim.

Rotation - Inside to Outside - Coaching Tips

Hold a rolled up towel between your upper arms and ribs to keep the bigger muscles from taking over this exercise. As you get tired, try not to turn your body with the movement.