Developing shoulder girdle flexibility

[Samuel Carr]

Hi. Due to past shoulder blade problems, i have been doing a lot of tightening to pull it into place, but little stretching. Im trying to work on handsprings, but as a prerequisite, im also working on bridges. I dont have enough shoulder flexibility to bend my arms back and straighten them into a bridge tho. What are some things i could do to fix this?

[Joshua Naterman]

my understanding and knowledge in this area is very limited, hopefully Ido Portal will contribute to this thread. He is very knowledgeable with this issue. All I know to do is the heavy band inlocates and exlocates, wall bridge walks, and standard shoulder stretching protocols.

[Blairbob]

Look for Ido's shoulder routine.

basically, you need to start working your bridge with your feet elevated enough so you can focus on stretching in the shoulders.

[Guest Ido Portal]

I have addressed this issue in my forum recently, I hope you will find this helpful, these are my views on the subject:

Actualy, shoulder inflexibility is one of the most misunderstood and difficult problems to correct. (in adults)

The development of more strength in extreme ranges of motion, or stabilizing the joint , together with improved flexibility are two subjects that must go hand in hand when addressing this problem. (no stability, no improvement in flexibility will be allowed , basicly)

Also, due to the potential mobility around the actual shoulder joint, many times when people think they are stretching the shoulders, actualy different areas get exposed to the stretch and compensate for a lack of shoulder mobility.

Solving the issue requires a multidude of tools, a good anatomical understanding, creativeness, and a lot of work ethic and patience.

I cannot give you any magic powder, since I ran out of, but I do intend to share more information about the subject in the future. A couple of recommendations in the meanwhile:

1. Mobilize your scapulas in a low intensity fashion, but daily and with a lot of volume. (search for my scapula mobilization routine on youtube)

2. Stregthen your external rotators in great excess. When you think they are strong enough, strengthen some more.

3. Stretch your internal rotators isometricly and get some soft tissue work on them.

4. Mobilize and strengthen your shoulder joint in the ends of the current possible ROM, again, low intensity, daily, lots of volume.

Good luck,

Ido.

[Jason Stein]

My friend,

I'm not sure what other activities your pursue, but you might consider scaling back movements that encourage your pecs and pec minors (among others) to shorten across a reduced ROM.

Meaning, all the bridge and shoulder work in the world won't help if you're also doing high-volume or high-weight bench-pressing, push-ups, thrusters, HeSPUs, etc.

best of luck,

jason

[Guest Ido Portal]

Jason, i wouldnt be so quick to make that conclusion.

Gymnasts are great examples of athletes who use a high amount of work in those 'shortened' joint positions, and even more so, the most immobile work there is- isometrics, but due to the incorporation of a lot of joint mobility, stretching, etc.. are still able to exhibit high amounts of both strength and flexibility.

It is all a question of correct balance of traits and wise training.

Ido.

BTW, I held the same opinion as you, many years ago, before investigating gymnastics training. Using purly passive means, as in most yoga practices combined with traditional strength training will lead you to that conclusion, but using active means to pursue flexibility is a different matter.

[Jason Stein]

Ido,

You are of course correct. I should have been more specific --- I believe that if you're interested in opening your chest and lengthening your spine, the ratio of your attempts to lengthen and open your bridge should equal, in intensity and effort, if not time, one's efforts in the other direction.

My thoughts on this arise from attending many Crossfit classes, in which athletes perform high-volume push-ups or ring dips, or other weighted movements with rapid decelerations (such as thrusters) --- and then, after spending a mere 5 minutes attempting a bridge, wonder why their back-arches are not changing or deepening.

best,

jason

[Blairbob]

It's because they only follow some sort of stretching/mobility regimen every once in awhile, if at all.

[lyzis]

Interesting thread!

Ido can you give some exemples of exercices to strengthen external rotators, stretch internal rotators isometricly and get some soft tissue work on them and mobilize and strengthen shoulder joint in the ends of the current possible ROM, again, low intensity, lots of volume?

I think it could help a lot of person!

Thank you

[Guest Ido Portal]

Is it Lyzis or Lazy? there is an abundent body of knowledge on those subjects flowing around the internet. Educate yourself.

[Joshua Naterman]

Ouch! *chuckles*

Edit: Ido's right. There are a lot of people who wonder how I know what I know, and how Ido knows what he knows. I can guarantee you that whenever he has a question, the first thing he does is search for existing information. If he can't find any, then he'll find an expert and ask them. That's how I have figured out everything. My shoulders hurt, and I look up everything I can to find out the answer. I found the information, started practicing it, and lo and behold my shoulder is getting better! All I needed was google. There HAVE been times when I have asked for help here, and I think I have received answers because I never just ask a question. I say "Hey, I've looked around and all I know about this is a, b, and c. Is there something I am missing?" or "I haven't been able to find anything on this, does anyone have an answer?"

If you want to know, you must find the answers. What you have asked is easily answered through google searches. It is important to exhaust the resources personally available to you before asking people here to write what will end up being a long and detailed post. It's common courtesy for one thing, and in addition to that it is important to cultivate the trait of self-reliance. Many of us lean on others more than we should, more than is good for us and more than is good for them. Go find your answers, they are out there waiting.