Welcome back to Stowe Training Systems and thank you for being here.
Today I would like to take you through some stuff that you “probably” should be doing.
I say “probably” because I like to stay away from absolutes – The world is quite a large place and there just always seems to be an exception to the rule somewhere.
Today’s exercise that you should “probably” be doing is the Horizontal Band Abduction with a Press – and I know you probably wondering…..
Why Should I do This Exercise?
This exercise is awesome for most folks who are dealing with some shoulder or neck pain.
Most shoulder and neck pain is actually a Shoulder BLADE issue.
Basically we spend a lot of time at our computers and this causes our shoulder blades to tilt downward and inward. When these shoulder blades aren’t positioned correctly we end up with a hump back and internally rotated shoulders much like our good friend Mr. Burns.
When these shoulder blades are out of position our body begins to send pain signals to alert us that something just ain’t right. In this instance we typically feel the pain in the front of the shoulder, top of the shoulder, or in the neck area. This is because those are the areas where are pain receptors are located.
The Band Horizontal Abduction with a Press serves to help promote better scapular positioning and therefore when paired with other shoulder mobility exercises can help to completely eliminate most shoulder and neck pain.
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53UjHi6aHd8[/youtube]
How To Do It
- First get either a small or medium sized continuously looped resistance band.
- Attach the band to an anchor point that will not move and is about shoulder height
- Abduct the band with either a “palm down” or “thumbs up” grip.
- Focus on the shoulder blade of the distal arm and really, really, really concentrate on depressing and retracting that shoulder blade. You want to feel this exercise in the shoulder blade and NOT in your upper shoulder area or neck.
- Press and protract the shoulder of inner arm for reps.
- Make sure the “rib cage is down” and the glutes are engaged
Common Mistakes
The biggest mistake in this exercise would be setting up the band too low.
If the band is too low then it will be all but impossible to retract and depress the shoulder blade correctly due to the angles involved.
The 2nd biggest mistake would be not keeping the rib cage locked down and glutes engaged. If you fail to do this you could possibly have too much rotation happening through your lumbar region and aggravate your back.
So if you are having shoulder or neck issues and looking for a high reward and low risk exercise that can be done virtually anywhere I would highly suggest you give this exercise a shot.
Till next time,
Move Better. Look Better. Feel Better
Nathan “Nate” Stowe BS, NASM-CPT, NCSF-CPT, CES, PES, FNS
Owner/Lead Trainer/Doctor of Awesome
Stowe Training Systems
More About Nate
Nathan Stowe, BS, is the president and founder of Stowe Training Systems LLC, a personal training company in Austin, TX.
A highly sought after coach for healthy or injured adults alike, Nathan has helped folks at all-levels – from 14-80 years old to even professional athletes – achieve their highest level of performance for their chosen goals. Behind Nathan’s expertise, Stowe Training Systems has rapidly established itself as the go-to destination for those wanting to improve their movement capacity, function, and experience Nathan’s cutting-edge methods. Nathan is probably best known for his work with his “pre-hab” clientele.
Nathan while majoring in Finance at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX managed to take every Health and Fitness related elective available. At Trinity, Nathan participated in several Intramural Sports as well as receiving extensive education in nutrition and resistance training.
Prior to founding Stowe Training Systems Nathan worked as a General Manager, Fitness Manager, Assistant Fitness Manager, and Master Trainer for Total Athlete Sports Complex and 24 Hour Fitness respectively. Although prepared in several bodies of knowledge, Stowe specializes in applied kinesiology and biomechanics as they relate to program design and injury rehabilitation, maximum relative strength development, and increased athleticism – particularly as it relates to those over the age of 45.
Nathan publishes a free blog at StoweTrainingSystems.com.
Leave a Reply