It’s easy to forget about your shoulders when working out, and we often only think about them when they’re stiff, painful or uncomfortable, but did you know that strengthening the muscles around your shoulders can help stabilise them and keep them healthy, as well as benefit your posture and everyday functional strength?
“The shoulder is a shallow ball-and-socket joint with a very large range of motion,” says physiotherapist Helen O’Leary, founder of Complete Pilates. “This large range of motion makes it prone to injury, and we often rely on muscles, tendons and ligaments to keep it stable. Overuse through repetitive activities like swimming or tennis can be detrimental to the shoulder, especially if you haven’t taken any steps to protect and strengthen the muscles around the joint.”
Proper Pilates exercises can help protect and strengthen your shoulders, helping to reduce the chance of injury. “These five exercises slowly and gradually increase the load on your shoulder and the muscles and stabilizers around it,” says O’Leary.
Helen O’Leary is a Chartered Physiotherapist with a background in elite sport. She trained with Polestar Pilates and founded Complete Pilates in 2015, a specialist rehabilitation Pilates studio with three locations in Central London.
1. Lateral shoulder rotation
manager: Up to 15
Start with light dumbbells of 1 to 3 pounds so you don’t overload your muscles (light dumbbells are less than $10 a pair on Amazon). “This engages the rotator cuff muscles at the back of your shoulders,” says O’Leary. “This will increase overall strength in that area and also help improve your posture.”
2. Band L
time: 30 seconds
Start with a light resistance band and gradually work your way up to a heavier one (we recommend sticking to well-known brands like Theraband when buying resistance bands). Your supporting shoulders work hard to support your weight and stabilize you, while your moving arms work against the resistance. “This is a good thing, because you have two sides to it – you’re doing two different things, just like we all do in everyday life,” says O’Leary.
3. Striped Circle
time: 30 seconds
It’s similar to a Band L, but your arms move in a circle instead of an L, so the resistance is constantly changing. “Weight-bearing exercises like this help strengthen your wrists and improve bone density, which helps prevent osteoporosis,” says O’Leary. “You get a little bit of an overall effect around your shoulders and back because you’re trying to support yourself against gravity.”
4. Modified Side Plank (Kneeling)
time: 30 seconds
“This modified side plank allows for really good weight distribution by extending your arms out to your sides, which isn’t something you do often during exercise,” O’Leary says. “It’s a great way to strengthen the entire shoulder and develop stability and strength in a different plane of movement.”
5. Lift your knees and push them back
manager: 8-12
“I like this because it’s a very global initiative. [the global muscles form part of your core]”The knee lift engages your entire core, stabilises your back and engages your abdominals,” says O’Leary. “Add in this pushing back movement, and you’re basically reaching overhead, but you’re doing it against your own body weight and the force of the mat, so you have to generate more force. This creates incredible stability in your arms and shoulders, and also works on wrist strength.”
