Indian clubs are incredibly useful for improving shoulder and spinal mobility. They come in a variety of materials and weights. When first starting with them, whether you have limitations or not, it's generally wise to begin with the lightest clubs you can find. I suggest starting with 1-pound clubs and gradually working up to 2 or 3 pound clubs only if you feel that your shoulders can use more weight. The maximum weight that I find I need for an excellent shoulder workout is 5 pounds. In this video, I am using 3-pound wooden clubs. Read more
If you experience shoulder pain when you elevate your arms to your side or all the way overhead, this may be due to a tight shoulder capsule that is causing the round ball of your arm bone to ride too high in your shoulder socket.
Often, the range that is most restricted is internal rotation of the shoulder joint. Read more
If you work at a desk or counter on a regular basis, chances are that you slouch forward to some degree, at least enough to cause mild to moderate tightening of the muscles that line your chest, anterior shoulder region, and even your upper arms.
This is a stretch that can you can do daily to help reverse these and other effects of slouching. Read more
If you look through our archives, you’ll find a more comprehensive guide on hanging and brachiating to develop and maintain optimal shoulder mobility. Read more
This is a look at a series of helpful exercises for those who have rotator cuff issues. Most mild to moderate cases of bursitis, adhesive capsulitis, and various forms of impingement can be overcome by improving shoulder and spinal mobility using the exercises shown here.
It's always prudent to consult with your own health care providers before trying any program of care. Read more
This is a look at how to use a massage ball to release a tight shoulder. Specifically, how to work out hypertonicity through the rhomboids and the muscles that make up the bulk of the posterior shoulder region - teres minor, infraspinatus, posterior deltoid, and the lats.
The ball used in this video can be found here: Read more
To improve shoulder and upper back mobility, lie face-up with your head slightly off the end of a bed and let your arms hang freely above your head.
Once you’re comfortable in this position, slowly take your arms through a small arc as though you are making a snow angel - you can do this several times to warm up your shoulder joints. Read more
If you are mobile and functionally strong enough to condition your shoulders and scapulae with hanging and swinging exercises, you might begin to work at the progressions in this video.
For an overview of exercise progressions that you can work at to improve your mobility and balance in a systematic way, please feel free to visit our Mobility Exercise Progressions page here: Read more
This post offers a collection of my favourite band exercises for improving shoulder mobility and stability.
If you've dislocated a shoulder in the past, please be conservative with any exercises you try, and after clearing things with your physician, you might start with those that have your arms no higher than chest level. Over time, as your shoulders feel stronger and more mobile, you can gradually work your arms overhead. Read more
This is a simple and highly effective shoulder mobility exercise that you can do anywhere.
Lie prone on a comfortable surface and begin with a towel or scarf outstretched above your head - you want to keep your elbows locked out, and maintain enough tension on the towel or scarf to keep it taut. Read more
There is a primal reassurance in being touched, in knowing that someone else, someone close to you, wants to be touching you. There is a bone-deep security that goes with the brush of a human hand, a silent, reflex-level affirmation that someone is near, that someone cares.