Bulletproof shoulders are the dream for every mover. If you haven’t had a shoulder issue cause you pain, or annoyance, and prevent you from training to your fullest potential, you’d be in the minority.
Shoulder injuries are common in lifting sports, but with a concrete prehab routine, you can create a solid foundation for strength and stability in the shoulder joint, which will pay dividends further down the line.
Why do we experience shoulder pain?
Between hours spent sitting stationary at the desk for the best part of the day, hunching over our phones for our post-work respite, and a training program lacking in mobility, our posture begins to take its toll. Our shoulders start rolling forward, our chest tightens and we begin to feel pinches in awkward places in and around our shoulders [1]. Sound familiar? Welcome to the Wonky Club, the community of shoulder issue sufferers with more imbalances than a pack of uneven carrots.
No, but it’s no joke, really, because the long-term result of turning a blind eye to pain and discomfort for longer than we should can lead to some serious limitations for our shoulders further down the line.
Our shoulders are a crucial driver of the vehicle we call our body, inhibiting a huge range of movement thanks to the tremendous ball and socket joint that actions flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, and internal and external rotation. And as you know, our shoulders do a lot of the work in our lifting routines and everyday life. If your training regime is split into a P/P/L, even on a leg day you’ll still be engaging your shoulders (deadlifts, RDLs, KB swings).
That leads us to point out that bulletproofing our shoulders is extremely important to our posture, stability, athletic performance, and living a life free of discomfort. We hope we’ve caught you before the dreaded rotator cuff tear, and you’re here to find out how you can prevent injuries and bulletproof your shoulders.
Luckily for you, that’s exactly what we’ve got coming up; here you can find out how to bulletproof your shoulders with the best shoulder mobility exercises, rotator cuff exercises, and prehab routine for warming up your shoulders.
What Is Prehab?
Prehab, as you’ve probably guessed, is the opposite of rehabilitation and is short for prehabilitation, which aims to prevent injury and improve your health and performance through conditioning routines that focus on strengthening weak spots.
Prehab can help towards your fitness goals in many ways, particularly as it sets out to fix muscle imbalances and build flexibility and strength in spots that are more prone to pain and injury, like the rotator cuff.
Not only can prehab exercises improve your joint range of motion, and flexibility, and reduce the risk of injury [2], but they also have a positive effect on your strength and power, as you move better, and eliminate the chance of regressing in your training through your prehabilitation work.
How Do I Bulletproof My Shoulders?
Having strong shoulders starts with your spine.
The shoulder is a complex joint that enables a wide range of movement, but it doesn’t do it all on its own. The glenohumeral joint (shoulder ball-and-socket joint) connects with the scapular (shoulder blade), which synergizes with the thoracic spine (mid-upper back) for upward movement.
Many programs overlook the connecting joints to the shoulder, but it’s time to start thinking of your upper extremity - thoracic spine, shoulder joint, and shoulder blades as one unit. To bulletproof your shoulders and achieve a full range of motion then, you must improve lumbar stability, and thoracic mobility, develop good scapular motor control, and strength and mobility through the shoulder joint.
There are particular points in the shoulder like the rotator cuff that are prone to pain and injury; rotator cuff tears, and shoulder impingements both originate in this area. A frozen shoulder is a common shoulder injury too. These are the areas we want to strengthen through prehab exercises to prevent pain and injury.
Bulletproofing your shoulders may seem daunting to face, especially if you’ve had a niggle or pinch for as long as you can remember, because it may feel like your shoulder will never feel “right”. But we promise, with some hard work and dedication, you’ll see improvements in your shoulder mobility, and eliminate shoulder pain.
Things to consider:
Prehab takes time and results aren’t seen overnight.
You may have to go back to basics and reduce resistance to improve your form.
A regular prehab routine will improve your posture and reduce the risk of shoulder injuries in the future.
Exercises To Bulletproof Your Shoulders
Prevention is the best action you can take for your shoulders. Here’s how you can bulletproof yours with 11 exercises to improve your lumbar stability, thoracic mobility, shoulder strength, mobility, and scapular control.
Lumbar Stability
Stabilizing your lumbar spine is important to ensure your spinal column has the correct mobility needed to maintain good posture without causing pain or physiological problems. Think of it as being able to maintain strong stability in your central column in a passive position. With lumbar instability, you might experience over-extension in the lower back, but this part of the spine should remain neutral, especially during overhead exercises like shoulder presses. You can improve your lumbar stability through the following exercise.
1. Side Plank
The side plank is one of the ‘Big 3’ must-do exercises for lumbar stabilization. It strengthens your lower-back stabilizers to protect your spine and your core to reduce pressure on your lower back [3]. This will help you keep an upright posture.
The rotator cuff muscles which help with external and internal rotation and stabilize the scapular are also targeted in this exercise.
How To Do Side Planks
Engage your abdominal muscles, drawing your navel toward your spine.
Lift your hips and knees from the mat while exhaling. Your torso is straight in line with no sagging or bending. Hold the position.
After several breaths, inhale and return to the starting position. The goal should be to hold for 60 seconds. Change sides and repeat.
Thoracic Mobility
You can’t have full shoulder mobility without thoracic mobility, because at the end of ranges of motion in your shoulder, thoracic mobility is needed to kick in and take some pressure off the ball-and-socket joint. Without correct mobility in the thoracic region, scapular movement will be compromised, limiting overhead shoulder motion. Poor mobility in your upper back can also lead to slouching, bad posture, and neck and shoulder pain.
2. Thoracic Cat-Cow
How To Do Thoracic Cat-Cow
Start on your hands and knees on the floor
Place both hands palms flat on the floor in line with your shoulders
Alternate between flexing and extending your mid and upper back
3. Shoulder Wall Angels
How To Do Shoulder Wall Angels
Face the wall with your forehead leaned against the wall
Bring your elbows and palms to rest against the wall in line with your shoulders
In that position move your arms as high up the wall as possible without breaking that position and return to the start point
Repeat
Shoulder Stability
The rotator cuff is a key player in shoulder motion, but it doesn't move the shoulder itself, its primary role is to stabilize the joint. Because it’s the rotator cuff that’s the most prone to wear and tear and injury, we want to train the muscles here to do their job (and well), so it’s crucial to focus on shoulder stabilization exercises to bulletproof your shoulders.
4. Banded Shoulder External Rotation
How To Do Banded Shoulder External Rotations
Tie a resistance band to a solid object (pole, door handle) on the opposite side of your working arm
(Optional) Lodge a rolled-up hand towel between your ribs and your elbow
Take hold of the band and bend your elbow 90 degrees so your starting point is with your arm across your torso
Turn your forearm outwards, keeping your elbow close to your torso, pulling against the resistance of the band, and repeat
5. Banded Shoulder Internal Rotation
How To Do Banded Shoulder Internal Rotations
Tie a resistance band to a solid object (pole, door handle) on the same side of your working arm
(Optional) Lodge a rolled-up hand towel between your ribs and your elbow
Take hold of the band and bend your elbow 90 degrees so your starting point is with your hand facing forward
Turn your forearm inwards, keeping your elbow close to your torso, pulling against the resistance of the band, and repeat
6. Reverse KB Overhead Press
How To Do Reverse KB Overhead Press
Begin sitting on a bench or standing
Hold a KB upside down then press over your head, simultaneously rotating your arm so your palms face away from you
Return to the starting position, rotating your arms back so your palms face toward you, and repeat
Scapular Control
As we stated earlier, scapular control is essential for shoulder health. It’s an overlooked area in prehab, but it’s important the shoulder blades can move well for overhead pressing movements. Why? When the scapula protracts and depresses, it works the serratus anterior, an important muscle that moves the scapula forward around the thorax and helps stabilize the shoulder. Overall shoulder stability is improved when training the scapular, which can reduce the risk of injury and imbalances.
7. Band Pull-Aparts
How To Do Band Pull-Aparts
Begin by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and holding a resistance band in front of you with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width
Keep your arms mostly straight with just a small bend in the elbows. Ensure your elbows are pointed outwards
Pull the band apart horizontally until the band comes into contact with your chest and your hands are in line with your body
Squeeze your shoulder blades together as you pull the band apart
Pause briefly, focusing on the contraction in your upper back, and then slowly return to the starting position and repeat
8. Prone Scapular Squeezes With Arm Lift
How To Do Prone Scapular Squeezes With Arm Lift
Begin by lying in a prone position with your chin on the ground looking straight ahead
Squeeze your shoulder blades together and down towards your mid back at the same time as you lift your arms off the floor
Imagine pinching something between your shoulders
Lower back to a relaxed position and repeat
9. Scapular Push Ups
How To Do Scapular Push Ups
Begin standing facing a wall and place your palms against the wall in the same position you'd take for regular push-up
Lock your elbows
Retract your shoulder blades squeezing them together then depress your shoulder blades pushing away from the wall and rounding your upper back
Repeat
10. Incline Bench YTW Raises
How To Do Incline Bench YTW Raises
Begin by lying on an incline bench facing the seat, with your feet supporting you on the floor
Hold two small weights with your arms outstretched, facing the floor
Extend and raise your arms in the shape of a “Y” formation for the first position.
Return to the start position then bring them up to form a “T” shape
Lower your arms back down and lift your arms into the shape of a “W” by shrugging and squeezing your shoulder blades together and raising your arms so that your hands face the floor
Repeat the sequence
11. Banded Face Pull
How To Do Banded Face Pulls
Tie a lightweight resistance band around a solid object around the collarbone height
Grab the end of the band and take a couple of steps backward to pull it taut with your arms out straight
Pull the band toward your face and simultaneously pull it apart as it nears your face
Return to a straight arm position and repeat
Shoulder Strengthening
You’ll never go wrong prioritizing the stability and mobility of the proximal areas to the shoulder, but to achieve those healthy bulletproof shoulders, you’ve got to focus on strengthening the shoulders.
The overhead press, shoulder press, lateral raise, and dumbbell row are excellent exercises for developing your shoulder strength.
When training to build shoulder strength, it’s crucial to strengthen the major muscles in the shoulder; the deltoid, trapezius, and rotator cuff muscles.
With a solid prehab routine, you’ll be able to grow your shoulders and build strength without injury.
To complete your bulletproof shoulder routine, take a look at our top 7 exercises for building strong shoulders.
Prehab Routine For Bulletproof Shoulders
Target the muscles you'll be training with a prehab routine. Your muscles should always be warmed up before you lift for safety and it'll improve your mind-muscle connection too. Perform 2-3 sets of each exercise for 10-15 reps, this bulletproof shoulder routine can be performed 2-3 times a week as part of your warm-up or an isolated session throughout the week.
Thoracic Cat-Cow
Shoulder Wall Angels
Banded Shoulder External Rotation
Banded Shoulder Internal Rotation
Reverse KB Overhead Press
Band Pull-Aparts
Prone Scapular Squeezes
Scapular Push Ups
Incline Bench YTW Raises
Banded Face Pull
...
Final Thoughts
Building bulletproof shoulders is about developing healthier joints so you can live a life free of pain and discomfort, and improve your posture, stability, and athletic performance. Adding these stability and mobility exercises to your routine will increase your range of motion and shoulder strength.
It’s going to take time, yes, but with consistency, you’ll be able to create a strong foundation of strength and stability in the shoulder joint so that you can row, pull, and press to your highest ability.
References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5659804/
