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TABLE 7.12 Selected Stretches for the Shoulder
Exercise name
(Method of stretch)Description
(Technique cues) Progression
Muscle group: Shoulder flexors
Muscles emphasized: Pectoralis major (clavicular) and anterior deltoid
Joint position: Shoulder extension with elbow extension
A. Arms back shoulder stretch
(Static)Grasp a bar, dowel, or towel behind
the back with the hands slightly
wider than shoulder-width apart
and the palms facing forward.
Slowly raise the arms backward
and upward until a stretch is felt
across the front of the shoulders.
(Emphasize keeping the scapulae
slightly down and together, and
only raise the arms as high as it
is possible while maintaining this
positioning of the scapulae.)- Lift bar higher while maintaining
good form. - Move hands closer toward each
other on the bar, dowel, or towel.
Muscle group: Shoulder extensors
Muscles emphasized: Pectoralis major (sternal) and latissimus dorsi
Joint position: Shoulder flexion
B. Kneeling arms overhead shoulder stretch
(Static)Kneel about 4 feet (1.2 meters)
away from the back of a chair or a
ballet barre with the hands slightly
wider than shoulder-width apart.
Slowly flex at the hips and allow
the torso to fall through the arms
until a stretch is felt across the
front of the shoulders.
(Firmly contract the abdominals,
focusing on pulling the lower ribs
down and back and the pubic bone
up such that hyperextension of the
back and rib-leading are avoided,
and the stretch occurs at the
desired site of the shoulders.)- Allow more of the weight of the
torso to hang on the arms. - Start kneeling slightly farther
away from the chair or barre.
(continued)