One of the best and most popular shoulder stabilization / pre-hab drills used among strength coaches these days is the Push Up Plus exercise. Why? – Because it’s a great exercise for activating and strengthening the all important Serratus Anterior muscles of the shoulder.
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Serratus Anterior
A strong Serratus Anterior muscle is crucial for optimal shoulder health and functional movement. Put simply, the Serratus Anteriror keeps the Scapula (Shoulder Blade) pressed against the rib cage while your arm moves or deals with load.
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Many folks blame a weak Serratus Anterior muscle for causing a winged Scapula. Although this can be true. There are some cases in which Scapula winging is cause by a long Thoracic nerve problem. This an an issue that is way beyond the scope of most coaches and therefore beyond the scope of this Blog.
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Now, what IS within the scope of this Blog is to provide you with yet another new, smarter and more effective way to use the Push Up Plus exercise for the purpose of shoulder strengthening and injury prevention.
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In the video below, I demonstrate how to perform the Push Up Plus exercise to MAXIMALLY recruit and strengthen the Serratus Anterior muscles.
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These recommendations featured in the video below are based on the current Bio-mechanical research and teachings of world renowned Physical Therapists like Mark Comerford and Kevin Wilk.
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Check out this video and discover how to Perform the Push Up Plus a Better way!
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As always, I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. So, don’t forget to comment below…
As many coaches are aware these days, stretching the posterior shoulder capsule is crucial to maintaining the shoulder health in certain athletes. Especially overhead athletes like tennis players, baseball players and quarter backs. Weight lifters can also benefit from this protocol as well.
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There are many sites that discuss the sleeper stretch. But, in my opinion, Dan Blewett has by far the best and most thorough description of how to safely and effectively stretch the posterior shoulder capsule using the sleeper stretch.
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Go here to check out Dan’s coaching tips on performing the sleeper stretch.
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In addition to Dan Blewett’s post on the best way to perform the sleeper stretch, check out the video below and discover a simple method I use to test if an athlete actually has a tight posterior capsule.
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There is one key point to understand about the sleeper stretch as it relates to the above test.
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Even if you don’t test “tight”, but still experience restricted limited ROM while performing the sleeper stretch. It still may be important for you to use the sleeper stretch protocol as described in Dan’s blog.
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Your restriction may simply not be related to the posterior shoulder capsule. But, rather be related to other shoulder structures be it passive or active. Regardless the sleeper stretch can still benefit you and improve the functional ability and overall health of your shoulders.
The feedback from all this YTWL, LYTP Shoulder Exercise circuit has been crazy.
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Everyone from Strength Coaches to Serious athletes and Personal Trainers to exercise enthusiasts seem to be loving the new and improved shoulder protocols feature in my New and Improved YTWL Shoulder Exercise Circuit post.
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I want you to help spread the word! So, I’m offering you the opportunity to use this post in your next newsletter or Blog.
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It’s a win, win for everyone! You get to provide cutting edge training information to your readers, while saving yourself the time and energy from writing new material.
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All that I ask is that you give credit where credit is due and provide a link back to my site http://nicktumminello.com/
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Plus, if you post a comment saying you will post this info on your Blog, I will add a link to your site in an upcoming post.
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Looking forward to hearing from you and having you be a part in providing Smarter Strength & Conditioning training and Education.
To conclude my whole TRUTH about the YTWL Shoulder series. I wanted to do a recap summary of everything that was covered in my recent posts.
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If you have already read/watched each post. Its still a good idea to read this because I’ve thrown a few key points that have yet to be covered. If you have not seen any of the TRUTH about the YTWL posts. I highly suggest you take a close look at each of the videos.
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An Swift and Orderly Change
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First off, the YTWL is no longer Y-T-W-L
It’s now the L-Y-T-P
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The L’s are put first for the simple reason that they are the hardest / weakest movement. It only makes sense, if you place the weakest movement last, as in the traditional method, you’re more likely to have a harder time doing it correctly due to fatigue.
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I’ve never understood why any one would put the weakest movement first. I guess we all just went in the order of the name YTWL. The L came last in the name so it came last in training.
Well, no more!
It’s L’s first from now on!
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Better Positioning = Better Results
Another issue that needed to be resolved is the traditional body positioning before performing the YTWL. Most folks are doing these from one of two positions
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1. Standing, bent over in a similar fashion to an RDL or how a Baseball short stop would stand.
2. Lying prone on the floor or on a bench.
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Along with my good friend and colleague Mike Robertson,I really like the standing version!
As Mike says “its a great way to integrate the torso”. How right he is!
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Standing with the torso at a 45 degree angle is also a great way to change the force angle of the LYTP series. That said, I do have a problem with the prone version.
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While doing the prone version from the floor or bench, there is nothing preventing you from extending your lumbar spine and reenforcing a compensatory/ dysfunctional pattern.
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By using a stability ball and a bent knee position, you eliminate all possibility of the lumbar extension.
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Plus, as Mike Robertson says “lying prone on a physioball so that they are forced to extend their t-spine actively versus passively”.
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Mike is one of the best in our field because he understands this stuff and I highly recommend reading his Blog and checking out Mike’s products.
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Check out this video for more on how to use a swiss ball to improve your LYTP shoulder exercises.
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A Quick Disclaimer
Before I move on to cover the rest of the letters (YTW), I wanted to make something very clear. My recommendations for each of these applications is very general and based on what I fell to be best for most healthy, uninjured people.
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With these and any other exercise applications, there is never just one way to do things. I’m most certainly not claiming that these techniques are the best and only right way to do your shoulder pre-hab training.
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As a Strength Coach, it’s my job to find methods that maximize success and minimizes error.
I will tell you with confidence that, each of these techniques has been well thought out and battle tested successful in my setting with 100’s of clients and athletes of all levels.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, lets talk some more shop!
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A New Angle on Y’s
The first thing I want to address here is hand position.
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When your hand goes over head as they do when performing Y’s, the safest position for your shoulder to be in is the neutral position. This is with your thumbs point toward the sky, if you’re lying prone.
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This is not a new concept and fairly understood among coaches and trainers. However, I have seem some coaches performing Y’s while holding a dowel rod. This is problem because holding the dowel takes you out of neutral and places your shoulders into some internal rotation. In doing so, there is NO added muscular benefit, only an increased risk or shoulder irritation and impingement issues.
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This is why I choose not to use a dowel rod or to keep the palms flat while doing Y’s. So, when doing Y’s, keep those thumbs pointed up, toward the sky!
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Why Don’t Your Y’s Look Like Y’s?
The next mistake folks seem to be making, is the angle at which they are performing the Y’s. In many cases, people place their arms next to their ears (parallel to one another) as in a superman position.
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First off, this arm position doesn’t even make a Y, it makes an I.
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Secondly, and more importantly, this is not the best strategy to maximize recruitment of the lower traps which is the intended goal of the exercise.
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Here’s a quick anatomy lesson.
As you can clearly see in the picture, the lower trap muscle fibers run at a 45 degree angle. The best way to stimulate a muscle is to line up the force vector with the line of muscle (fibers) pull.
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In other words, in order to perform Y’s effectively, the arms should be placed at 45 degree angle ( in the same line as the low trap fibers).
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Some folks do, do Y’s with their arms at more of an angle. But, in most cases the angle is not as wide as it should be relative to the angle of the fibers in the low traps.
You can watch the video below to see the angle I recommend.
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No More I’s
Certain folks are actually doing I’s (arms parallel) along with the rest of the letters. I recommend against this because there is no added muscular benefit, only more room for error and compensation.
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How to get Maximal Lower Trap Recruitment
I could make this part a long and complicated discussion. But, its not my style. So, I’m going to hit the ground running. If your arms are at the correct 45 degree angle, as I described above, there is no need to consciously pull your shoulder blades back and down as most coaches recommend.
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In fact, doing so will more than likely cause you to compensate and use your lats as the primary muscle. This is also described in the below video.
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A great way to prevent compensation and maximally stimulate the lower traps, is to use a technique I learn from world reknowned physical therapist Mark Comerford.
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Once your ams are fully lifted into the Y position, attempt to reach outward away from your body. In other words, try to make your arms longer. If your arms are at the correct angle, you will NOT shrug your shoulders and compensate by using levator scap.
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Due to the fact that lower trap is primarily a low load, local stabilizer muscle, this reaching out of the arms action will cause lower trap to activate to create scapular stability.
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Its also importan to note, that due to fact that lower trap is primarily a low load stabilizer, it should be trained in a differnt load/ rep range than the rhomboids. Meaning, you will use a different rep range doing Y’s than you would doing doing T’s.
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When doing Y’s, I recommend performing 5-10, 3-5 second isometric reps. I would also keep the weight low.
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See this video for more on Y’s
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A Small Twist for Big Results on T’s
The goal of T’s is to hit primarily the rhomboids and mid traps. In order to do this, two adjustments from the traditional method need to be made.
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First, when doing T’s its not necessary to external rotate your shoulders (keep your thumbs up). This has been recommended to add the additional stimulation of the external rotator muscles.
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The problem with this is that most people don’t have weak external rotators as we once thought. Instead, we tend to have overused external shoulder external rotators. See the TRUTH about W’s video below for more on that.
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Hard training on already overworked and irritated tissue is never a good idea. So, again, no need for that added external rotation.
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If in the case you do actually have weak external rotators (which should be determined by a qualified physical therapist – not a trainer/coach who just attended a weekend assessment course), this weakness can cause them to struggle while doing T’s and interfere with the quality of the movement.
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It can also distract them from the primary goal of this exercsie, which as I’ve said is to strengthen rhomboids and mid traps. As they say, if you chase tow rabbits, you’ll never catch either.
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In short, L’s are designed to strengthen your external rotators and therfore are better suited for that purpose.
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How to Maximally Recruit Your Rhombiods
While doing T’s, keep your shoulders and hands neutral (palms down while prone).
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As you raise your arms to the side, pull your arms toward the mid-line of your body.
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Don’t think of retracting you shoulder blades back and down.
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Your rhombiods are responsible for scapular retraction and elevation. So, if your pull your shoulder blades down, you decrease rhombiod activation.
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Plus , if you just think of puling your shoulder blades downward, you end up using your lats instead of rhomboids.
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To reduce any chance of mistakes/compensation and maximize rhomboid recruitment, attempt to shorten your arms as if some one were trying to pull them out of the sockets.
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Yes I know, this is the complete opposite of what I recommended earlier for performing Y’s.
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It’s different for good reason! Your Rhomboids are primarily mobility muscles. Where as you low traps are primarily stability muscles.
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Put simply, muscles with different functional roles require different training protocols.
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Unlike the low traps, the rhomboids are high load dominat, mobilizers muscles. Therefore , we take a more traditional approach to training them by using heavier loads, with normal tempos for 8-12 reps.
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See this video for more on T’s…
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Out with W’s, In with P’s
I’ve already given you more than enough smarter strategies for shoulder training to make your head explode. So,to keep you from having a brain overload, I’m going to keep this one short and to the point.
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The W is the most useless of all the letters in the YTWL shoulder circuit. I explain exactly why in the video below.
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I have replaced the W’s with P’s. The P stands for Pivot Prones, which are demonstrated in the below video as well.
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If you are wondering where the idea for the pivot prone comes from, the name originates from a neural developmental position we all learn before we start to crawl, while lying prone (on our belly) as infants.
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“At approx 5 months of age the child develops an interesting skill that contributes to their pelvic and scapular mobility.”
“During the Pivot Prone posture or pattern, the upper extremities assume the high guard position with the scapulas adducted by the rhomboid muscles. The upper limbs are horizontally abducted at the shoulders and flexed at the elbows. This retraction of the shoulder girdle and posturing of the upper extremities enhances trunk extension. To assume the pivot prone posture, the anterior muscles must elongate.”
Pediatric Physical Therapy, By Jan Stephen Tecklin, pg.34, Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Fourth Edition edition (October 1, 2007)
Now, that you understand the origin of this movement pattern, you can better appreciate the important role that pivot prones can play in regaining and maintaining a fundamental movement pattern that we all should posses.
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Well, there you have it! I’ve given you the knowledge and the tools to improve your shoulder strength, stability and overall health.
I still have a few more posts coming at you covering my approach to tire training. However, I promised on my most recent FitCast Interview that I would post this video about the Sleeper Stretch.
So, I’m going to hit you with some more knowledge on smarter shoulder training.
The Sleeper Stretch has be getting allot of press these days and just about every coach is talking about stretching the posterior shoulder capsule. The Sleeper stretch is a great protocol if you actually have a tight posterior shoulder capsule.
The problem is, most do NOT have a tight posterior shoulder capsule.
I realize this is opposite to what you have been told in the past. But, even most serious lifters don’t have a posterior capsule when tested.
In the video below, I reveal a simple test that will help you check on how tight your posterior shoulder capsule really is.
If you are doing the sleeper stretch, you absolutely need to see this video!
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Comment on this post and let me know how you did on this test?
As I mentioned, I’m betting that most of you will pass and therefore NOT have a tight posterior shoulder capsule.
The final installment in my TRUTH about the YTWL Shoulder and Upper Back exercise circuit video series.
The feedback from this video series has been amazing and I’ve gotten some great questions!
My next post will come at you Q and A style where I will address many of these questions.
Before I move on to the TRUTH about W’s, I wanted to remind you that this is your last chance take advantage of the Ultimate Warm Up and Preparation Package Sale!
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Now, onto the W’s!
The video below will show a much smarter and more effective way to perform W’s. It will also teach about a very important, yet often overlooked primal movement pattern called The Pivot Prone Position.
Just sent out an exclusive video revealing the key factors to designing a Dynmaic Warm Up that garuantees better performance evrytime you train or compete.
So, if you’re not on the list, sign up now (at the top of the page) so you don’t miss out on the next must-see training video.
After you sign up at the top of the page, check out the video below and discover why you are probably compensating and promoting dysfunction by using the wrong muscles during your Y,T,W,L shoulder circuits.
This video will reveal a simple tweak that will ensure that you don’t compensate and guarantees the right muscles activate to an even greater degree.
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My next post will reveal the TRUTH About Y’s. You need to see this one!
Also, don’t forget to check out the post below this one. Its the first in my Truth about the Y,T,W,L circuit.
As you can clearly see in the picture, the lower trap muscle fibers run at a 45 degree angle. The best way to stimulate a muscle is to line up the force vector with the line of muscle (fibers) pull.
Don’t think of retracting you shoulder blades back and down.
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