5 Exercises - 7 Minutes To More Mobile Pain Free Shoulders

My shoulders...

Your shoulders...

The shoulders of the person closest to you now...

Are (most likely) completely messed up.

Yes. It's sitting.

Yes. It's smart phones.

Yes. It's posture issues.

Yes. It's lack of corrective movement and stretching.

Today, you're getting a routine that can help you mobilize your shoulders.

This routine is focused on mobility and movement... not so much stretching or trigger ball therapy .

7 Minutes To More Mobile Shoulders Routine Breakdown

Again, this is mobility focused and this means you'll be moving your joints through their fullest (biggest) range of motion possible.

Keep in mind... this range is unique to each person. Don't measure yourself against me or anybody else.

Here's the circuit:

60 seconds of kneeling twists
60 seconds of dislocates
60 seconds per side of weighted full arm circles
60 seconds of overhead light lunges
60 seconds per direction of shoulder rolls (forward and backward)

Yes, this is a little longer than the 5 minutes we normally focus on... but it's mobility. It's worth it.

If you're severely crunched for time, you can easy drop the time to 40 seconds or 30 seconds. After all... doing something is better than nothing.

When Should You Use This Routine?

When it comes to mobility... movement based... routines I prefer to use them as:

Warm-up for a workout
An after work move and shake the body out routine
A daily warm up after you wake up in the morning
A little warm up before you do some static stretching or a yoga routine

7 Minutes To More Mobile Shoulders Exercise Breakdown

Kneeling Twists

This is a thoracic twist... that means your mid back. You can also use this move and rather than switching back and forth... just hold one side for 60 seconds.

If you hold for 60 seconds... this is - obviously - a stretch. Use it in your next stretch routine.

Step 1

Get on your hands and knees... helps to be on a yoga mat.

Take one arm and reach it under and across your body... behind your arm that is still straight. Make sure you reach behind the arm that is on the ground.

Fully extend the arm so it's straight and laying on the ground.

This is where the twist comes from. You want to get the shoulder of the arm that's reaching on the ground.

Step 2

Come out and repeat on the next side.

If you're doing this routine at your own pace... you can hold it for a little longer.

Don't be alarmed if you feel your spine crack.

Finally... work to keep your hips as quite as possible. If you're not very mobile... you may feel your hips rotate a little.

Dislocates

Kindal keeping her arms straight as she rotates her shoulders over her head and working to reach through her shoulders.

Kindal rotating all the way through so the PVC pike is behind her body and she is still reaching through her shoulders.

Such a scary name but a great shoulder mobility exercise.

Step 1

Grab a PVC pipe... a belt... a band... you can even use a broom stick or Swifer mop.

Hold the pipe with a wide grip (about 3 to 4 feet apart). The wider your hands are the "easier" it will be.

Keep your arms straight and start with your arms in front of you hanging down as you hold onto the pipe.

The pipe is directly in-front of your hips.

Step 2

Keeping your arms straight... rotate from your shoulder joint all the way up above your head.

Continue rotating behind you as far as you can... while keeping your arms straight.

If you're shoulders and chest are mobile and loose... you may be able to go all the way behind you.

If you can't get all the way back... no worries... mobilize to your personal level.

Listen to your body and focus on extending through your shoulder joint the entire time.

Weighted Arm Circles

Kindal is at the top of the arm circles and she is letting the weight pull her shoulder to increase her mobility.

Kindal is rotating her arm behind her body while she is working hard to keep her body square. This increases the range of motion the shoulder has to make.

Kindal rotating in front of her body as she lets the weight pull her shoulder forward.

These feel so good. I think you'll begin doing these all the time.... especially in the morning.

Step 1

Grab a light dumbbell... no more than 10 pounds. In fact... I would start with 5 pounds.

Hold the weight by one of the bells... so the opposite bell is hanging down.

Essentially, you're holding the weight vertically.

Keeping your arm loose and not engaged... start rocking your arm back and forth like a pendulum.

Feel the weight pulling on your arm.

Step 2

Keep the momentum growing and pick a direction... forward or backward.

You are going to start spinning your arm and make big arm circles... letting the weight pull on your shoulder joint.

That's the point of this exercise... weighted arm circles will pull and "stretch" your shoulder joint out.

Make sure you don't hit your leg... or the ceiling with the weight.

In this mobility routine... we're only going one direction. I recommend backward to help open your chest.

It's good to do these both directions if you have the time.

One last tip...

Let your torso twist but don't let it go crazy. Keep your upper body as quiet as you can and only twist enough to keep your shoulder rotating along a straight plane.

Overhead Light Lunges

Kindal reaching the PVC pipe up and over her head similar to doing a dislocate as she is pulling her core in tight getting ready for the lunge.

Kindal is reaching up hard through her shoulders as she lunges back. All the while she is keeping her core tight and staying in balance.

Step 1

Grab your PVC pipe or Swifer mop. Hold it just like you did with the dislocates.

Reach the pipe over your head and really extend through your shoulders.

Step 2

Take a big step back into a reverse lunge.

The idea here is to put your back leg into extension... get your knee a little behind the front of your hips.

And just work on maintaining balance.

There's no real rush to switch sides but at a smooth pace... keeping switching reverse lunge sides and the entire time REACH that pipe up as high as you can get it to go.

Shoulder Rolls

Kindal rolling her shoulders with the shoulders moving forward as she tries to push them as far forward as possible.

Kindal rolling her shoulders up and she is trying to move them up and scrunch them.

Kindal moving her shoulders back as she rolls them and works to push them as far back as possible.

This is Dan's favorite little mobility exercise.

He will do this just about every morning as he get's his coffee and breakfast ready.

Step 1

Stand straight up and let your arms hang down... relaxed at your sides.

Slightly pull your shoulders back.

Roll your shoulders and make as big circles as you can.

When you go back... really push your shoulders back.

When you push them down... really push them down.

Really push your shoulders in each direction as you make your circles.

For this routine you can choose the direction you want to go. I suggest backward because this will help open your chest more.

Most women (and men) have very tight chest muscles from sitting too much and being on the phone too much.

This is a great way to get some blood flow moving into your shoulders and chest muscles.

Try These Other Mobility Routines

If you want more mobility routines.. check these out.

Ready For More Mobility And Movement Routines?

I love doing mobility routines.

They feel so good and if you do them enough... you'll notice your joints feel considerably better and you'll even begin to improve your range of motion.

Plus as you reap these benefits... your strength workouts will get stronger and you'll achieve better results.

Did you know...

I do at least 2 stretching and mobility routines with my members every single week?

And Dan and I have a library of:

Stretching
Mobility
Trigger ball therapy

...routines you can use whenever you want.

BUT...

You have to be a member of Fit Women's Weekly LIVE .

This is my private online strength training group . And when I say small... I mean small... only 300 active members.

That's more intimate than most private studios in your hometown.

But that also means membership is probably closed. But it's it's not, you should join and lock in a spot.

You can try FWW LIVE FREE with no obligation. Sign up for my free 14 day trial and come get strong and loose with me.

If working with a training is a little intimidating for you... no worries.

I have a strength program called Habit .

It's a collection of 30 day strength programs that let you go at your own pace. You don't get personalize - LIVE - access to me... but you still have access to ask questions when you need to.

Go learn about it and if you want to try it... purchase one of my back catalog programs on my Vimeo page .

Now GO get this shoulder mobility routine done and let me know how it goes. Leave a comment on the video and I'll answer you back.