Shoulder Mobility: The Secret to Strong, Pain-Free Shoulders
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This month, your shoulders are about to get the VIP treatment—if you commit to these mobility exercises! 💪 While your shoulder joint is designed to be incredibly mobile, it often gets a bad rap. Whether it’s from poor posture, heavy lifting, or just sitting at a desk all day, many of us find our shoulders feeling stiff, tight, and achy. But here’s the deal: strength and mobility go hand-in-hand when it comes to shoulder health. You need both to keep those shoulders feeling their best!
So, let’s talk about how to improve your shoulder mobility with some key exercises. Get ready to give your shoulders the flexibility and freedom they deserve!
Shoulder Controlled Articular Rotation (CARs) 🎯
Shoulder Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) are one of the best ways to address the full range of motion your shoulder should have. These exercises focus on moving the shoulder joint through its natural range of motion, helping keep everything in balance. As always, start pain-free and in your manageable range. As you continue, you’ll notice improvements in your shoulder’s flexibility and mobility—trust me, your shoulders will thank you!
Overhead CARs 🏋️♀️
Let’s be honest—how often do we find ourselves reaching overhead? From grabbing something in a high cabinet to lifting weights at the gym, overhead mobility is essential for most of our daily activities. It’s also an area where many people start to compensate (we’re looking at you, low back and rib cage!) when shoulder mobility isn’t up to par.
To avoid compensating and straining other areas of your body, you’ve got to keep your shoulders flexible and mobile. The Overhead CAR exercise is a great way to ensure that your shoulder joint is truly moving as it should—no back, neck, or rib cage doing the heavy lifting!
Here’s how to do it:
Start by standing or sitting tall with good posture.
Reach your arm overhead, keeping the shoulder joint stable and the movement coming from the shoulder itself.
Slowly move your arm through its full range of motion, ensuring your shoulder is doing the work, not your back or rib cage.
Repeat on both sides for balanced shoulder mobility.
This exercise is perfect for anyone who uses their arms overhead regularly. Bonus: it can also help prevent that pesky shoulder pain that sneaks up after a long day of reaching or lifting.
Want to see this in action? Check out this video example to help guide you: Overhead CARs Video.
Why Shoulder Mobility Matters 🤔
Our shoulders do A LOT of work—lifting, reaching, rotating, and supporting. But if we don’t keep them mobile and strong, we risk developing compensation patterns that can lead to pain, stiffness, or worse, injury. By focusing on mobility exercises like CARs, we can ensure that the shoulder joint has the full range of motion it was designed to have.
It’s like regular maintenance for your car—if you don’t check the oil, it’s going to run into some problems down the road. Similarly, if you don’t check in with your shoulder mobility, those tight, stiff shoulders could become a real pain in the neck (literally).
Time to Give Your Shoulders Some TLC 💖
So, this month, let’s show our shoulders some love! Incorporating these mobility exercises into your routine can help improve your shoulder health, prevent injuries, and keep you moving with ease.
Remember: strength and mobility go hand in hand. A balanced shoulder—one that’s strong AND mobile—is a happy shoulder. Get to work on those Overhead CARs, and watch your range of motion improve!
Ready to feel good again? Let’s get those shoulders moving!
