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Started by Noah Zimmt, August 29, 2014 · 7 Replies · 306 Views
Hello! I am simply wondering if my form is okay on scapular shrugs. I notice in the video example the shoulder blades are not as prominent at the 'top' of the exercise (shoulders protracted). Is this just because I am skinnier or do I need further ROM? Thank you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzHdWmI-Es&feature=youtu.be
You're not fully protracting(as the set goes on, you see that you lose ROM). Instead, you're raising the middle of you back. Also, you're bending your arms to help with the movement, which is counterproductive. This will all improve as you spend more time with this exercise and build more protraction strength. Focus on good form and don't let your arms bend.
Agree with what Duf says. Plus, your retraction is very good!
It may be the camera angle but the movement looks slightly asymmetrical - left shoulder girdle more developed than right side?
Duff said:You're not fully protracting(as the set goes on, you see that you lose ROM). Instead, you're raising the middle of you back. Also, you're bending your arms to help with the movement, which is counterproductive. This will all improve as you spend more time with this exercise and build more protraction strength. Focus on good form and don't let your arms bend.
Thank you! I'll work on that. What should I focus on doing to push my scapula further? I genuinely can't seem to protract them further than you see in the video, and some kind of mental cue may help a lot!
LateStarter@46 said:Agree with what Duf says. Plus, your retraction is very good!
It may be the camera angle but the movement looks slightly asymmetrical - left shoulder girdle more developed than right side?
My right shoulder (which is actually on the right in the video, my camera acts like a mirror) has a separated AC joint and some weird stuff going on with the SC joint. No pain, and no idea how or when the injury occurred (more than 4 years ago but that's all I know). I never even knew it was separated until I saw a physical therapist for different stuff.
Because the video is flipped I don't know which shoulder in the video you thought was more developed, but imbalances are likely due to that (and are part of the reason I started doing F1)
confused.com here! I don't understand tricks with mirrors, but the shoulder nearest the giant teddy bear looks more developed.
…now you're going to tell me it's not a giant teddy bear... 
It is possible you have tight lower trapezius/rhomboids. Try to stretch them before your next session and see if this improves ROM. I would advise a one arm stretch so you can see if there are any left/right differences.
Duff said:It is possible you have tight lower trapezius/rhomboids. Try to stretch them before your next session and see if this improves ROM. I would advise a one arm stretch so you can see if there are any left/right differences.
This. Also try practising unweighted protraction. Stand next to a mirror and protract as much as you can, paying careful attention to the muscles you are using. If you can achieve a greater degree of protraction you know it's just a strength issue and you may need to drop back a cycle to build up volume with this new ROM.
Duff said:It is possible you have tight lower trapezius/rhomboids. Try to stretch them before your next session and see if this improves ROM. I would advise a one arm stretch so you can see if there are any left/right differences.
Awesome, thanks! I'll give this a try.
KibboKift said:This. Also try practising unweighted protraction. Stand next to a mirror and protract as much as you can, paying careful attention to the muscles you are using. If you can achieve a greater degree of protraction you know it's just a strength issue and you may need to drop back a cycle to build up volume with this new ROM.
It's a tad hard to tell in a mirror because I'm not sure what the side view is supposed to look like w/ regards to ROM (it feels like I can push further but I have no 1-to-1 visual comparison) so I'll try filming myself doing them on my knees and see if that makes a difference.