How to Do Shoulder Dislocations

Shoulder dislocations are an excellent dynamic stretch and shoulder mobility exercise.

Do you want a stronger posture? How about dramatically improved shoulder flexibility and range of motion?...

...If you answered 'yes' to at least one of those, this is the right dynamic stretching exercise for you.

The movement works by stretching the upper body pushing muscles (i.e. pecs, front delts), while strengthening the rotator cuffs and many upper back muscles.

And in case you were alarmed by the name of this exercise, let me assure you that it doesn't involve dislocating your shoulders!

On this page, I've posted a video guide, step-by-step instructions, useful tips and advice, and more.

Shoulder Dislocations Video

Exercise Basics

Muscle(s) Stretched:	Anterior Deltoids Pectoralis Major Pectoralis Minor
Muscle(s) Activated:	Lower Trapezius Middle Trapezius Posterior Deltoids Rhomboids Serratus Anterior Rotator Cuff Muscles
Mechanics:	Dynamic Stretch
Main Equipment:	6' Wooden Dowel Rod
Alternative Equipment:	Resistance Band

Shoulder Dislocations Instructions

1. Warm Up. Do a general and specific warm up. This entails light cardio, "shoulder circles" (i.e. hold your arms out at your sides and move in small circles), and some shoulder and pec stretches.
2. Get a Long Dowel Rod. A 6' wooden dowel rod (preferably one with a 1"-1.5" diameter) is the ideal piece of equipment for this exercise. However, any similarly long, thick, light and non-flexible stick – such as a broom handle or PVC piping – should suffice.
3. Grip Width. Hold the dowel with a wide grip. With your arms hanging down, allow the dowel to rest gently against the front of your body.
4. Stance & Posture. Make sure you're in an approximately shoulder-width stance. Maintain a neutral spine (i.e. natural spinal curvature) by standing with your chest out, chin back, eyes forward, abs tight, glutes squeezed and pelvis neutral (i.e. position that distributes upper body weight evenly throughout the spine; doesn't tilt forward or backward).
5. Lock Your Elbows. Lock your elbows to completely straighten your arms.
6. Raise Your Arms. Begin raising the dowel toward the ceiling by lifting your arms straight up. Don't cheat by bending your elbows. Maintain a controlled, slow to moderate pace.
7. Squeeze Shoulder Blades Together. Bring your shoulder blades together and flex your upper back muscles as you raise the dowel up past your face and over your head.
8. Release Outer 3 Fingers. As you start bringing your arms from over your head to behind you, release the pinky, ring and middle fingers from the dowel (i.e. grasp the dowel with the thumb and forefinger of each hand). Releasing the grip of these outer fingers prevents you from having to bend your wrists in a way puts that places them under undue stress and interferes with your shoulders' range of motion.
9. Bring Arms Behind You. Bring your arms all the way back and down, until the dowel touches your body.
10. Go In Reverse. Bring the bar from behind you to overhead to in front you.
11. Repeat. Repeat the entire back-and-forth motion for the desired number of repetitions. I recommend 3-5 sets of between 5-10 repetitions, daily. When you're starting out, you'll be most comfortable with around 5 reps per set. As you become more flexible and improve your mobility, you'll be more comfortable with around 10 reps.

Shoulder Dislocation Exercise Tips

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when doing this great dynamic stretch exercise. If you follow these pieces of advice (as applicable), you'll improve your form, maximize your progress and minimize injury risk:

• Always start with a very wide grip on your first set.
• Bring your hands closer after each set, as get more get loosened up.
• Progressively narrow your grip width until you reach a sticking point (i.e. when you must bend your elbows to finish the range of motion). Then widen your grip just enough so that you can perform the movement without any issues. Complete any remaining sets using this grip width.
• You'll see steady progress by training as described in the above-listed bullet, most of the time. But you can try this to break past tough a sticking points:
  • Perform the movement to the sticking point on the first rep, and attempt to go a slightly further on each successive rep.
• The shoulder region is complex and delitcate. Although this is a generally safe exercise, you should always practice safety: Don't accelerate mid-repetition, always maintain control and don't try to force your way through a sticking point (instead, use the 2 techniques, above).
• You can speed up the tempo as you gain experience. Just don't be reckless in doing so. Remember, you've only got one pair of shoulders!
• You can swap the dowel for a resistance band to emphasize upper back muscle activation. The down side is that a resistance band makes it easier to cheat (intentionally or not), since the band length is variable and easy to manipulate. I advise mastering the original version before trying this one.

Is This Mobility Exercise Right for You?

Most people can benefit greatly from this exercise.

Sitting down and hunching over a keyboard or a smartphone for long periods of time has become increasingly common in modern society...

...This body position takes a toll on your posture over time.

Specifically, it tightens your chest muscles and front deltoids while weakening your upper back muscles. This results is poor shoulder shoulder mobility and flexibility, among other ailments.

Shoulder dislocation are one of the best mobility exercises you can do to correct or prevent these issues. Plus, it'll give you a more confident posture, to boot!

I would not recommend this exercise to individuals who have excessively tight upper back muscles and very weak or loose front delts and chest muscles.

Also, anyone with injuries or conditions that would likely be aggrevated by this movement should avoid it as well.

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