Brian Schiff’s Blog

Yesterday, I revealed a simple yet effective way to strengthen the posterior cuff muscles for overhead athletes.  Today, I want to give you a slightly more difficult version while positioned prone on the ball.  It still targets the posterior cuff, but allows you to focus on both shoulders and stabilization too.

Again, move through a pain free range of motion and use a deliberately slow cadence on this exercise.  I typically like a 1/1/1 or a 2/1/2 pace to get full activation of the muscles throughout the range.  Deceleration of a throwing, stroking or hitting arm is one of the key roles the posterior cuff plays, so emphasizing eccentric strength is necessary to prevent and rehabilitate a shoulder injury. 

Perform 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions with a lighter weight, while maintaing strict form.  If you sense the upper torso is lifting off the ball, consider using less weight or moving to a position where the knees are on the floor to increase stability.

I have literally helped over 10,000 people rid themselves of shoulder problems in just the past 3 years with my Ultimate Rotator Cuff Training Guide. What has been the secret of my success? To be honest, it comes down to understanding how to systematically couple and progress specific exercises at definitive time intervals to deliver a positive rehab outcome.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, I have found it is not. In the next few blog posts, I will share some critical shoulder exercises to incorporate into your program if you have weakness or pain related to poor rotator cuff and scapular muscle strength.

The first exercise today is seated dumbbell horizontal external rotation. It is imperative to keep the arm slightly forward of the plane fo the body (scapular plane is ideal) and move at a predictable pace through a pain free range of motion. Do not push back through pain as this only perpetuates inflammation.

This particular exercise is effective for increasing strength in the posterior cuff muscles and also for athletes participating in overhead sports such as volleyball, baseball, swimming, and golf to name a few. Do 2 sets fo 10-15 repetitions with a light weight. Tomorrow, I will reveal a more advanced progression of this exercise.

I often give advice on how to strengthen the rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers in my articles and products, but have not revealed as much about my stability training methods. The shoulder is naturally unstable. Therefore, it is at increased risk for injury especially in those with subtle and gross instability.

In the short video clip today, I reveal 3 progressive stability exercises that can be done on a stability ball. Keep in mind these exercises are designed for an intermediate level exerciser or someone who has already gone through more basic gravity eliminated stability training (on a wall for example).

I generally like to do 10-15 repetitions or timed reps with my clients. Pay close attention the arms and how I must work hard to control the sholder positioning through consistent co-contraction of the shoulder musculature. This co-contraction and weight bearing is instrumental in training the shoulder to be more stable and resist outside forces. It is best to spot your clients behind the ball early on in case they lose balance and suddenly shift their body weight to one side.

In this video, I reveal two of my favorite single leg TRX exercises. Using the anterior and lateral reach will challenge lower leg balance/stability while improving hip and thigh strength for any athletic pursuit. These progressions are excellent for ACL and other knee injury prevention and advanced rehab programs. Turn up the volume as the camera is far away to capture the video. Enjoy!

In today’s video, I reveal 3 distinct single leg progressions with the TRX to strengthen hip and knee. Again, these can all be done at home with a counter top. Stay tuned as I will show you suspended single leg TRX exercises in the next post designed to challenge balance and improve dynamic power and control.