Millions of people are dealing with shoulder pain and stiffness right now…
I used to think exactly like those people. I figured I just had “bad shoulders,” and tried to learn to live with it…
Little did I know, learning to ‘live with it” puts you on the fast track to being trapped in a physical prison.
If you’re tired of trying to “Live with it…” keep reading.
Shoulder problems make you feel fragile, weak, stuck, and very likely confused.
Confused because of how complicated the "shoulder joint" is.
The lack of understanding when it comes to shoulder function makes it so people actually create MORE DAMAGE when they are trying to rehab the shoulder.
Conventional wisdom says if you have a messed up shoulder, you should stretch it, and increase mobility so it functions better.
But which part of the shoulder, exactly? The shoulder is made up of FIVE KEY COMPONENTS--and if these aren't ALL functioning properly, you have no chance at solving your problem.
Not only do you need to address these FIVE areas, but you need to address them IN ANATOMICAL ORDER.
In my 10+ year career in corrective exercise, I have seen so many failed attempts at shoulder rehabilitation and strengthening. Hell, I went through it myself. There is nothing more frustrating than doing everything in your power, dedicating lots of time and energy, and achieving no (or negative) results.
Today I'm going to teach you how the shoulder ACTUALLY works, what the key players are, and how to approach strengthening it to a level that is indestructible. The Secret to this method is the systematic correction of the key players, and the smooth reintegration into the ideal compound movements. Then, the safe and progressive climb toward more advanced strength and mobility exercises.
ALL of these players play a pivotal role in shoulder health and strength. If you have a dysfunction in one of these areas, you are going to have a shoulder problem--guaranteed.The most common mistake a person can make (and boy do a lot of people make this one) is to focus on stretching the glenohumeral joint only.
This is a MAJOR PROBLEM.
The Glenohumeral Joint is already the MOST MOBILE JOINT IN YOUR ENTIRE BODY...so what happens when you try to stretch it MORE? You actually create what's called joint instability. You see, your joints actually require two things--Mobility AND Stability.
Stretching the hell out of the most mobile joint in your body is going to cause more pain and suffering--and in some cases, this process isn't reversible--because you aren't stretching muscle here--you are stretching ligaments. Ligaments don't stretch like a rubber band, the way muscles do. Ligaments stretch more like silly putty--you can't shove it back together once you overstretch it.
So don't just stretch your damn GH joint!
Moving on...
Not only do you need to address function in all five areas, but the ORDER that you address them in is critical.
In fact, many people already know that you need to have a functional scapula and a mobile thoracic spine (middle back) in order for your glenohumeral joint to work well.
BUT...
If you don't address the breathing, and core strength FIRST, all the shoulder rehab in the world isn't going to fix the problem.
To sum up so far, you need to address the key players, in sequential order.
Let's go into some actual details regarding these players.
You're probably rolling your eyes and thinking, "I can already breathe, I've been doing it for years, how does this affect my shoulder function?"
Well you might be surprised to find that breathing dysfunction is EXTREMELY COMMON. This creates a snowball effect throughout the upper body, which I will now explain.
First, understand that your breathing is driven by one primary muscle (diaphragm) and assisted by a myriad of others.
Many people use the wrong muscles to drive the movement--the most common problem is often referred to as "chest breathing."
"Chest breathers" use the neck and shoulders excessively to help drive breathing, and this causes inappropriate muscular tension.
Proper muscular tension creates something called Joint Centration--this is the ideal joint position ("centered" in the socket).
You see your body is designed in a rather masterful way. The structure is set up for your joints to have an ideal mechanical advantage for movement. The only way that your joints maintain this ideal position, is if the muscles acting on a joint have the correct amount of tension. Not enough tension and you lose STABILITY--too much and you lose MOBILITY.
Optimal breathing is a perfect sequence of the diaphragm driving the movement, and the accessory muscles assisting the movement.
When your breathing patterns are not functioning properly, it is going to make some muscles hang on too tight, and it will make others take a vacation and become too relaxed.
Fortunately, these issues can be fixed with just a couple minutes of breathing exercises.
The best part? Sometimes that is the ONLY problem!
It's really something magical--I remember working with a fitness model years ago who came to me with shoulder pain. He also had horrendous mobility in his shoulders. We did a simple breathing exercise for 3 minutes.
The result?
Pain went from a "7" to a ZERO. Shoulder Range of Motion increased by ELEVEN INCHES. This is not an isolated incident, either.
And THIS, is exactly why you address breathing FIRST. The Simple Shoulder Solution Program has a systematic approach to fixing your breathing patterns and re-integrating it into your normal activity.
The next key player in fixing your shoulder dysfunction is the CORE.
The core has two primary jobs, look great on the beach, and stabilize the center of your body.
IF the core doesn't do it's job (shame on you, lazy core), the neighboring muscles will try to take on it's job. You really don't want to piss off the neighbors.
In fact, if these neighboring muscles lend a hand with core stability work, they can't do their own jobs properly anymore, and they'll be overworked. So now your shoulder muscles are too busy being a core to hold the shoulder joints in the right position and move your shoulder around.
For this reason, it is important to properly activate your core. The Core gets weak, and lazy from lack of use. To properly activate the core, you need to focus on 3 key things.
- 1. Lateral Stability (the sides of your body)
- 2. Anterior Stability (front side of your body)
- 3. Rotational Stability (twisting, and preventing a twisting force)
If you have these three things dialed in, you have a great chance at healthy and functional shoulders!
If not, well...you know. Simple Shoulder Solution shows all the progressions for addressing and strengthening the core, allowing for optimal shoulder (and hip) function.
Hopefully you've learned something so far. In fact, I would wager that 50% of shoulder problems stem from a lack of proper breathing mechanics and poor core activation.
But there are still a few players left to talk about.
Next up, The Spine.Specifically, your thoracic spine (mid back) and neck.
Once again, stiffness in these areas is going to have a snowball effect on the surrounding structures--so if your thoracic spine and neck are stiff, they are going to pull the shoulder out of it's proper alignment (joint centration). This is going to cause havoc on your shoulder function.
Not only that, but a mobile thoracic spine and neck are REQUIRED for your scapula (shoulder blade) to be adequately mobile and stable.
To address these areas, a combination of multi-planar mobility drills (mainly extension and rotation) are a necessary step in the process. These easy drills are the next step in Simple Shoulder Solution. Careful though, most people overstretch their Lumbar Spine (low back) instead of the thoracic spine, which can actually cause more low back problems AND NOT help with your shoulder mobility.
The Scapula (shoulder blade) is a tricky devil. It can be hard to tell exactly what it needs without a proper evaluation. In my experience most folks have ZERO ability to move their shoulder blade without compensations from the elbow or neck.
Can you draw a circle with your shoulder blade?
How about with your arm completely straight?
How about from a push-up position?
Or hanging from a bar?
These movements are rarely done, but are necessary for strong, healthy, and flexible shoulders. This is especially true for the scapular muscles, which are NOT adequately strengthened with traditional weight training exercises.
If the shoulder blades don't work properly, they do not provide a solid foundation for the GH joint to move from--and you know how that story ends...
Everything you need to know about taking your shoulders from broken to unbreakable