Brian Schiff’s Blog

This is a follow-up from my previous post. Limited thoracic spine rotation can be detrimental for the shoulders, low back and lower extremities with sports and strength and conditioning activity. Consider the impact of asymmetry or stiffness on a golfer, swimmer, thrower, tennis player or even someone doing rotational and pressing working the gym.

Asymmetrical and repetitive activity can lead to deficits as can faulty positions during work and daily life. This simple exercise with the foam roller can be helpful in facilitating optimal mobility and better kinetic chain motion. This video comes from my ‘Functionally Fit’ column for PFP Magazine.

Lately, I have been working with an elite swimmer hoping to make it to the 2012 Olympics in London.  It has been blast training her since she is so fit, driven and willing to embrace training with a smile each session.  I mean seriously, how many 16 year olds do you know that swim 5 hours per day, go to school, and train with someone like me 3x/week?

While I utilize many common exercises in her program, I definitely pepper in several ones aimed at maximizing core and shoulder strength/stability.  One of the exercises I use from time to time with her is a shoulder glide exercise.  I thought I would share this little gem today.

This is NOT an exercise I recommend for people with shoulder impingement, recurrent instability, poor shoulder mobility or those lacking a high level of fitness to begin with.  In other words, this is no sissy exercise and it can be dangerous if used improperly.

To start with, I had my swimmer do it with both hands.  Once she demonstrated the right form with ease, we progressed to this version in the video below:

So, if you are looking for a great way to challenge and improve shoulder and core strength, this is one to add to your arsenal.  Be wary of gliding out too fast as this is a sign your upper body and/or core is not strong enough to decelerate the motion effectively.  The pull back motion is a great way to strengthen the lats and swimming muscles as well, all the while exposing and resolving any single sided deficiencies.