Are You Ruining Your Shoulder Mobility?

Written By Dylan Kumar

4 min read

Shoulders “down and back” is an overstated and misguided cue in physical therapy and training. This idea of pulling your shoulders back and pushing your chest forward came about as a quick means of reversing the hunched over and slouched posture that individuals assume after sitting too long. With one extreme of hunching forward with rounded shoulders being universally thought of as a poor position, why should we encourage the opposite extreme of arching your back, pushing your chest out, and pulling your shoulders down and back? 

Why this is important?

You need your shoulder blades to move freely in order for your arm to move freely. If you are consciously squeezing your shoulders blades down and back, don’t be surprised to find that your shoulder motion feels limited in all directions, which can lead to a host of shoulder & neck issues down the road in and of itself. How can you reach over your head with your shoulder blade down and back? How can you throw a ball with your shoulder blade down and back? How can you do anything naturally if you're consciously thinking about down and back? 

If you google “skeleton” you will notice that every example has a rounded mid back and relaxed shoulder position with an arched lower back. So why are we all so focused on creating an overly arched mid AND low back with our shoulder blades squeezing together? According to every skeleton ever depicted, that goes against the exact way our spines naturally developed.

As you can see, a natural skeleton has a rounded upper back with shoulder blades that tilt forward NOT an arched upper back with shoulder blades that are squeezing down and back

A Better Alternative

The goal should be to maintain a more neutral, or stacked, position. A helpful cue we use with our clients is having them draw their ribs “down and back” into a more neutral position. This will naturally lead to a reversal of the over extension, or back bend, that is commonly seen and allow your shoulders and hips to remain vertically aligned. With the rib cage, spine, and pelvis now in a more neutral alignment stacked on top of one another, the core and shoulder muscles are better positioned to carry out their function and allow both your arm and shoulder blade to move freely!

Practical Application

The next time you are in the gym doing a row or pulling exercise, rather than thinking about retracting your shoulders and pinning your shoulder blades down and back, simply think about pulling your elbow back while allowing your shoulder blade to move freely. If you consciously “stabilize” your shoulder blade to eliminate all movement at that joint, you inevitably place more stress on your shoulder and arm. The next time you push and pull, let your shoulder blades move!

All the motions of your shoulder blade should be trained in the gym, just as you would any other joint. Free your scaps!

Conclusion

If you want to learn more about other common training related myths, check out our free Ebook: 5 Common Fitness Related Myths! Also, if you would like to hear more about how we can help bridge the gap between where you are and where you would like to be, schedule a free discovery call.

References

Dylan Kumar
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