WAG Shoulder flexibility

[gymnast0119]

I don't have very good shoulder flexibility. My coach has given me drills, but they don't seem to always help. Does anyone have any drills they know that helped you/ your DD/ your teammates/ the kids you coach with this?

Thanks!

 

[elitegymnast]

To get my shoulder's flexible my coach streched them twice or more in a training session. Each strech took about 1 min (that is how long my coach streched it for), and about 6 months later they were flexible. But if you get knots in your shoulders it takes about 2 years to get it back to the same flexiblitiy.

 

[sleeplessinnewyork]

Hi! One shoulder stretch we do at our gym sometimes on on a beam, using a floor bar, or some sort of small weight. You also need a partner. Basically, you lie on your back on the beam and let your arms hang downward. your partner places the bar/weight in your hands, and you try to put it on the ground, or lower it as much as possible. You lift it up and lower it 5 times, and then you hold it in the lowest position for 10 seconds or so. Sorry if that was a little confusing. About the weight:I really recommend a floor bar or parallette, don't use anything too heavy!! Good luck, I hope I helped!

 

[iwannacoach]

Hi! One shoulder stretch we do at our gym sometimes on on a beam, using a floor bar, or some sort of small weight. You also need a partner. Basically, you lie on your back on the beam and let your arms hang downward. your partner places the bar/weight in your hands, and you try to put it on the ground, or lower it as much as possible. You lift it up and lower it 5 times, and then you hold it in the lowest position for 10 seconds or so. Sorry if that was a little confusing. About the weight:I really recommend a floor bar or parallette, don't use anything too heavy!! Good luck, I hope I helped!

That's a pretty good start. I like to add an elbow "curl" done at the limit of the range of motion to help lengthen and strengthen the tricepts. You can fiddle around with that concept, and figure out how to stretch the other muscles that associate with "shoulder" flexibility.

 

[gymgurl]

I have the opposite problem to you - my shoulders are too flexible leading me to be more prone to dislocations - my physio can pop my shoulder out with little effort and no pain - apparently this isn't possible on everyone. However, the rest of my team do stretches as follows:

Do in pairs:
stretch 1 - sit back to back and have your arms in presentation and have your partner pull your arms back.
Stretch 2 - sit back to back and have your arms about your head but each hand holding the opposite elbow so that your arms and shoulders form a sort of rectangle. Have your partner pull your arms back over their head so that your shoulders are open
Stretch 3 - lie face down on the floor and put your hands on your head and have your partner pull your elbows up.
Stretch 4 - lie face down on the floor arms by your side and have your partner pull them up behind you (during this stretch make sure your partner holds above your elbow - so upper arm to prevent elbow injuries)
Stretch 5 - lie face down on the floor arms in front of you have your partner hold your arms up so that your chest is just coming off the ground and use their knee to push your upper back to stretch the shoulders.

Each stretch for about 30s - 1min

Stretches you can do by yourself:
Stretch 1 - find a corner of a wall and put your lower arm vertically against the wall forming a right angle with your elbow. now push your shoulder forward
Stretch 2 - find a table top or box at the gym or even the low bar and rest your hands on it. Push down opening your shoulders
Stretch 3- sit in tuck seat on the ground and join your hands behind you. Slide your bottom forward until you feel a stretch.

again 30s - 1min

 

[thegymfreak]

I do not seem to have good shoulder flexibility either! My coach has me lay down on my stomach and she pulls my arms up.
hope it helps!

 

[pinkos98]

What we do for shoulder flexibility is we go into bridges against a wall (or a big box mat) and try to stretch so that our shoulders/ underarms are touching the wall and we hold it, stretching as far as we can for at least 30 seconds at a time. Hope this helps

 

[BlairBob]

A zillion drills on Mobility WOD.

Your bread and butter is band pass throughs. I prefer a band or jump to rope to a stick.

Elevated bridges focusing on open shoulders.

Cat stretch...this is ok but even on better on a set of stall bars with their legs piked on a lower bar. Try to get their hands and feet to get as close to possible bar distance wise.