4 Steps To Unbreakable Shoulders

Cranky, crunchy and painful shoulders is by far the most common ailment I come across when coaching clients. Every issue is different, and you have to remember that pain is multifactorial (i.e. it isn't always just a structural thing), but over the years I've found following the below four step approach goes a long way to helping people with their shoulder issues.

Troublesome joints are often viewed in isolation, so if you've got shoulder pain you look at the shoulder, but the bigger picture is that it's part of a larger chain of joints that all work together. The infographic above from my Instagram is designed to help you picture this, and see the shoulder joint itself as the top of a pyramid, with foundations that need to be strong underneath it. The pyramid starts at the bottom, with a solid base at the core, moves up into the spine, onto the scapula (shoulder-blades) and the the shoulder at the top. Lets work through the one by one. The Core The core is the base of the pyramid as it works to provide the stable base for upper body movements. Having strong abs and obliques alongside a robust lower back will allow you to lock your torso in the best position for whatever movement it is you're doing. It'll also help you maintain that position, and not fall into compensatory movements as fatigue kicks in at the back end of a set. Anti-extension movements for the abs like these help to lock your ribcage down in place, and anti-lateral flexion movements like side planks and single arm carries help to stop inefficient sideways movement. When you've got your core nice and strong, you can start to expect this things above it in the chain to start to work better too. The Spine Next up the chain is the spine, in particular the thoracic spine (the part that connects to your ribcage). With a strong core and your ribcage locked in place to provide stability, you're going to need some thoracic extension to allow your shoulders to flex overhead smoothly. Without thoracic extension you'll likely find yourself with your shoulders rolled forwards, limiting your ability to reach overhead. Mobility movements like thoracic rotations, thoracic extensions, and open books are great for working on your spine and giving it the mobility it needs to freely reach overhead without compensation. The Scapula Your scapula are your shoulder-blades. The big flat bones that slide across the back of your ribcage (or at least they should do). The most common issue with the scapula is a lack of stability. You need to be able to hold them in a strong position for pressing and pulling movements. The position of your scaps determines the starting position of your actual shoulder joint, which is really important in movements like bench presses, pull-ups and shoulder presses. The best position is often retraction (back) and depression (down), or "putting your shoulder-blades in your back pockets". The problem is most people spend most of their time in the opposite position (protraction and elevation, aka forwards and up). Back and down keeps your shoulder joint close to the body, stable, and set in a mechanically good position to push and pull. Forward and up moves the shoulder joint away, isolating it and leaving it more prone to overloading and injury. Mobility and strengthen your scap position with drills like scap push-ups and scap pull-ups at the start of your upper body sessions.

The Shoulder Finally, we come to the actual shoulder joint. The shoulder is a joint which is capable of a WHOLE lot of movement. Flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal rotation, external rotation yadda yadda... Or at least it should be. For many people, maybe you included, it'll be restricted. Stiff, tight, limited in range. We need to reopen that range up. Give it freedom to move again. If your core is strong, your spine mobile and your shoulder-blades set you stand a good chance of doing this. All the key ingredients are there. If your core is weak, spine stiff, and shoulder-blades flapping around in the wind, your shoulder will probably remain stiff and immobile as a means of compensation. It probably won't move freely and pain free until it has the proper foundation to move upon. Which is why you should never look at the shoulder in isolation. Always look at the big picture. Follow these four steps. Strengthen, mobilise and control all 4 areas, and your shoulders will feel, move and lift a whole lot better. Thanks, Ian.