Shoulder Strengthening

A little back ground before I tell you about the strengthening.


Ok so back in august 2008 I was competing in a kick boxing tournament when I hyper-extended a jab which kind of threw my shoulder out of position but I continued on after a short stoppage, around 1 minute later just towards the end of the round, as I threw a left hook I managed to put my body all out of shape and caught him on the chin with an awkward shot. Sure enough straight away I felt my shoulder come out of place and screamed in agony! Didn’t feel all too good at the time but after a few weeks I managed to get back up to full health but with a niggling problem in the back of my mind. Turns out I had a subluxation and didn’t tear the capsule, which is good news! Wiki defines it as this:


“A subluxation may have different meanings,
depending on the medical specialty involved.
It implies the presence of an incomplete or partial dislocation of a joint”

I spent around 2-3 months of going through shoulder rehabilitation and yes it definitely felt a lot better than before. Although I didn’t feel comfortable in putting it in some places, my range of movement was poor and I was still feeling weak, even after rehab.


So I did my own. I still do! The shoulder is one of the most complex joints in the body if not the most complex of all! Imagine a ball and socket; now imagine that being able to rotate 360 degrees. Now added to all that are tendons, ligaments, muscles, nerves and so much more. It is by far the most complex and most amazing joint in the body but why do we continue to ignore it?


I know a lot of people who say, yeah I have really good strong shoulders. Really? Just because you can shoulder press 45kg on each hand doesn’t mean you have strong shoulders all round. Have you seen those people in the gym who walk like Neanderthals, you know the type, dragging there knuckles along the floor pushing out everything heavy with AWFUL form. Yeah well check out their posture, are their shoulders rounded at the front? I thought so. Strength isn’t about the amount you can lift but what you full shoulder range is capable of, being injury free!


Here are 6 exercises to do that will help shoulder mobility and give you a great foundation to build upon. If you aren’t sure about the exercises I’m talking about, go to YouTube!


• Bent over rows – Simple and great for you. Helps bring back those rounded shoulders, as long as the form is correct! Remember Keep a straight back!
• Shoulder dislocates with Resistance band – This is great for rotor cuff movements.

• Scapular wall slides – Just stand with your back to the wall and keep your shoulders back doing this.

• Scapular push ups – Just like regular push ups but with out using your arms (in a sense)

• External Rotation – Great for building on lateral strength of the shoulder

• Lateral raises – Again another brilliant exercise for building on lateral shoulder strength


If you continue to build on shoulder strength using light resistance then hopefully you will reduce the risk of injury and pain. Let’s face it, no one likes being injured and everyone hates spending time away from the gym if they can help it! Give yourself a break from all the heavy lifting to work on some simpler routines. Who knows you may find improvements in your strength game!


Peace out for now