Everything we do in our day to day requires us to have a strong upper body, from carrying your groceries to reaching for a shelf or picking up your puppy. We live with our arms being the delivery system of a lot of our tasks without thinking about it. Why is shoulder stability so important?
Stability means keeping the ball and socket joint rolling and gliding correctly when you go to move your arm or when you go to lift a weight - if it doesn't do that, you are more likely to encounter restrictions with your shoulder range of motion, which may eventually lead to pain or discomfort. The muscles surrounding the shoulder play an important role in providing stability to the joint, and should be trained and activated properly! Below are three drills that can help you keep your shoulder happy and stable.
| Arm Bar | Turkish Get Up | Farmers Carry |
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1) Start light, making sure you are comfortable with a weight over your head!
2) Do these for reps in order to improve your shoulder stability, or do them as a warmup before an upper body lift.
3) If you've never done a get up before, ask a coach to teach the sequence to you, as success is dependent on specific technique and form.