If you answered both questions with a resounding “yes,” then there’s a good chance that your shoulder mobility could use work. And in an era that has us hunch forward over desks and laptops and smartphones, you’re far from the first person to battle this postural flaw. Stable, mobile shoulders let you maximize classic exercises like the bench press and pullup.
Improving your shoulders’ stability and range of motion can prevent shoulder and back pain. To do all that, you need to understand a joint that movement guru Kelly Starrett, DPT, calls a “black hole of misunderstanding.” Few joints are influenced by the muscles around them (think: chest, lats, and even small core muscles) more than your shoulders. But you can start improving your shoulder mobility by zoning in on these five questions.
FEW JOINTS ARE as versatile as your shoulder. You should be able to lift it up overhead, as you do when you reach your arm toward the ceiling (an idea called “shoulder flexion”). You also use your shoulder to raise your arm out to the side, as you do during lateral raises, and to pull your arm close to your torso.
You make these motions often during workouts—and IRL, too. Stuffing your luggage into the overhead compartment on the plane? Thank shoulder flexion for that.
Your shoulder also moves in two more subtle ways. Raise your arm out to the side (as if doing a lateral raise), then bend your elbow at 90 degrees, fist facing in front of you. Rotate your arm so your fist points toward the ceiling.
This is “external” rotation, and it’s key to shoulder health. So too is “internal” rotation, which occurs when you rotate your arm so your fist points downwards to the floor. WHEN YOUR SHOULDERS' range of motion is limited, they “borrow” from other joints, says MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.
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