Upper Back & Shoulders

Want To Loosen Your Upper Back & Shoulders? Dowel Exercises # 1

We all get stiff and tense through the shoulders especially when we start getting the rounded shoulder appearance and the forward neck carriage. So what can we do? Mobilise the shoulders and open up the space between the shoulders again. Here are 3 different mobility exercises that can help loosen your back and shoulders:

1st Movement- Mobilise Upper Back & Shoulders

  1. Get a dowel
  2. Place hands on dowel out wide
  3. Lift dowel over your head and rotate arms as far back as you can, then bring them back forward
  4. 5 -10 reps in that position
  5. If you can move your hands in a bit closer- great! Another 10 reps in that position
  6. Find your limit and continue working at your limit position

2nd Movement- Mobilise Upper Back & Shoulders (one side at a time)

  1. Hold dowel out in front of you
  2. Use left arm to push right arm back as far as you can
  3. Use right arm to push left arm back as far as you can
  4. Using one side at a time, allowing the body to twist to get maximum movement through the shoulders

3rd Movement- Add Strength to Upper Back & Shoulders

  1. Hold dowel up above your head
  2. Keeping dowel above your head, squat down as far as you can
  3. Make sure when squatting your knees stay behind you toes, keep head upright and back straight
  4. If keeping your arms above your head is not working, try holding dowel across your chest and do squats
  5. Squat as if you are sitting on a chair- if you find your knees are going over your toes you may have found your current limit

Hopefully this was helpful- please feel free to like, comment or share to anyone you think could benefit. We would love to hear your thoughts and know what works for you!