Our shoulders can become a major source of discomfort, particularly if you spend your working days sat at a desk and your posture is pretty poor. It causes the muscles between your neck and shoulders to become tight and tense, and it’s a one-way ticket to ruin your working day. Thankfully, Physical Therapist, Jeff Cavaliere, founder of popular YouTube Channel, Athlean X, has shared a simple exercise you can do every day that he says will leave them more mobile and pain-free.
The exercise is called ‘the shoulder rocker’ and Cavaliere says it delivers great ‘bang for your buck’. “Not only will you improve shoulder biomechanics directly but also indirectly by increasing thoracic mobility (extension),” he writes on his Instagram post. “A few reps is all it takes but it will take consistency.”
The movement is a hybrid of a glute bridge, performed in a tabletop position. It goes without saying, doing a few reps of this exercise isn’t going magically eradicate all the shoulder pain you’ve ever experienced. While Cavaliere does say that a few reps are all you need, he also points out that you need to be consistent. That means performing it numerous times a week (every day will probably garner the best results). Here’s a breakdown of how to perform the shoulder rock, or you can check out the short video above.
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent in front of your with your feet flat on the floor and your arms down by your sides (palms facing backwards)
- Next, rock your body forwards slightly so that your arms are behind your body
- Pushing through the heels of your feet and squeezing your glutes, lift your bum off the floor raising your hips to a table top position
- Hold here for a second, really thinking about pushing through the chest and squeezing the shoulder blades
- Lower yourself back down to the ground and then repeat for 8-10 reps
If you also suffer from particularly tight hips, then make sure you check out these stretchologist's top five stretch recommendations. Alternatively, this seven-minute mobility routine is particularly good if your entire body needs some TLC from the negative effects of sitting.
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