10 Shoulder Exercises You're Not Doing | #AskKenneth

If we focus on the shoulders of hypertrophy, we do overhead Press, lateral raises, frontal raises, but we always forgot to do some remedial exercises for the shoulder health.

Here are 9 shoulder exercises you may not do them often.

1. Shoulders Twisting

Simple and easy.

No equipment required.

Rotate your arm clockwise and rotate your left arm anti-clockwise.

Rep: 10 each

2. Shoulder & T-spine Rotation

Simple and easy.

No equipment required.

Rotate your right arm 360 degree and lean back your body at the same time like Gymnastic Bridge or called Backbend.

Your eyes follow the movement of your hand.

Rep: 10 each

3.1 Shoulder Opening Stretches

Use a foam roller to open your thoracic spine.

Your hands are holding a weight plate.

Duration: 30s

3.2 Shoulder Opening Stretches

Same idea as above exercise.

Hands are holding the bench and put your upper back at the edge of the bench.

Duration: 30s

4. Shoulder Rotation with a Stick

All you need is a wooden stick or PVC with snatch grip (wide grip).

Facedown the floor and rotate your shoulders 180 deg.

Slow & steady. Don't rush!

Rep: 10

5.1. German Hang

You can do German Hang with the gymnastic rings or chin-up bar.

It's an insane stretching method to improve your mobility and strength.

You may not feel comfortable of doing it if you have poor shoulder mobility.

At the beginning, you can put your feet on the floor if you cannot do the deadhang on the rings or chin-up bar.

German Hang is the position of full shoulder extension (arms behind your back) whilst grabbing the rings.

Set: 2-3

Duration: 30s

Next step is 5.2 Skin-the-cat

Skin the Cat exercise is the dynamic action of moving in and out of the German Hang position from the inverted hang.

Set: 2-3

Rep: 3-5

6. Facepull

Doing Facepull is beneficial to your shoulder health if you are sedentary and doing a lot of bench pressing. It is targeting to rear delts, rhomboids and external rotators.

Here are 3 different positions to perform Facepull exercise.

1. Above head

2. Forehead

3. Neck

Keys:

Use Light weight, NOT heavy weight.

Brace your abs with split stance.

Don't lean back your body.

Slow tempo. Slow eccentric.

Don't pull the cable by biceps.

Set: 3-4

Rep: 15-20

7. Cable Rotation + Press

If you are weightlifters, you are recommended to do this exercise.

It gives you 3D healthy shoulders.

How To Do

Set the pulley about chest level.

Row the handles to chest level from straight arms 90 degree.

Rotate 90 degree.

Press up vertically.

Slow eccentric back to the starting position.

Set: 3-4

Rep: 10

8.1. Barbell Cuban Rotation

If you always pressing, I do recommend Cuban Rotation for you.

Coaching notes:

Stand upright. Brace your abs and glutes.

Hold a Barbell with 90 degree angle

Start from the top of the head.

All the way down with slow eccentric to 180 degree.

Tempo 3010

Set: 3-4

Rep: 8-10

8.2 Dumbbell Cuban Rotation 

If you want a 3D healthy shoulders, you are recommended to do this exercise.

Coaching notes:

Stand upright. Brace your abs and glutes.

Hold a DB with 90 degree angle

Start from the top range.

All the way down with slow eccentric to 180 degree.

Tempo 3010

Set: 3-4

Rep: 8-10

9. Single Arm Trap-3 Raises

This exercise is credited to Strength Sensei. It's related to about the structural balance.

Coaching notes:

Tempo 3011

Retract the scupulae.

Raise up the working arm with a DB.

Pause 1s.

3s eccentric.

Set: 3-4

Rep: 10

10. Single Arm Cable External Rotation

We need to understand that the infraspinatus or external shoulder rotator is responsible for rotating the humerus and it’s important for shoulder stabilization.

We have 3 variations to perform this exercise.

Level 1: Adjust the pulley and cable to the same height as your elbows

If left arm is the working arm, grab the handle with your left arm and bend your elbow at a 90-degree angle.

Rotate your left shoulder and bring handle to the right hand side horizontally.

Keep the elbow close to the body.

Then return to the starting position with slow eccentric.

Level 2: Adjust the pulley to the knee level between hip and the ground.

If left arm is the working arm, grab the handle with your left arm and bend your elbow at a 90-degree angle.

Rotate your left shoulder and bring handle to the right hand side from low to high.

Keep the elbow slightly away from the body.

Then return to the starting position with slow eccentric.

Level 3: Adjust the pulley to the bottom position.