A Word About Shoulders...

Hey Gang!     
     It is far too common amongst athletes to be stiff between their neck and the bottom of their ribcage (the thoracic spine or T-spine.) Most often, lack of mobility in this region is expressed by a resultant lack of shoulder flexion (raising your arms up over your head.) In most daily activities, poor t-spine mobility is hardly a limiting factor, but... In positions requiring overhead support like a press or overhead squat, positions of dynamic shoulder loading like the kipping pullup and muscle-up, and in positions of static strength like the front squat, it becomes painfully clear that lack of mobility of the T-spine leads to overall decreases in applications of strength and power throughout the kinetic chain. That is your overhead squat, the speed of your tennis serve, or the amount of glide you get during each swim stroke is likely a function of your t-spine mobility. The good news is, that mobilizing this region of the spine is relatively easy and will lead to immediate, meaningful changes in functional status. So, ask your coach about how you can do something about your stiff rib cage....or read and act on this: 

 

Transitive Shoulder Relation

Remember your geometry?
Whenever A = B and B = C, then also A = C. Right?
Good, hold that thought.

     It is an all too common occurrence that we are asked by our athletes how they might improve their shoulder flexibility so as to improve their overhead lifting capacities. When looking for increases in range and joint flexibility it is easiest to go after the most simple and most obvious impediments first. For example, most athletes that experience difficulty working overhead also have stiff thoracic spines.
     Since these athletes have a stiff thoracic spine, they often also lack the ability to achieve good thoracic extension (as if you were laying back over the hood of a car and sticking your chest up in the air).
And, because they don't extend well, their shoulder blades literally have no place to go when they should be moving back and out of the way of the raising arm. Thoracic extension facilitates scapular retraction. Having your shoulder blades get out of the way of your arms effectively eliminates a potentially boney block to your dumbell squat snatch.
  
Whenever A = B and B = C, then also A = C
Work on your thoracic extension to improve your overhead badness.

Here's a little proven method to work on your transitive shoulder motion.
Get a couple of tennis balls and some athletic tape.

Tape the tennis balls together length wise.


Tape around the middle "waist" of the thoracic weapon.


Cross your arms over your chest and place the tennis balls anywhere along your rib cage.


Rock side to side and take big breathes until that segment no longer feels tight.



Moving one joint segment at a time, rock side to side and identify any areas that feel stiff. Plan on a 5 minute session.

Enjoy!

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