THE GYM WILL BE CLOSED ON MEMORIAL DAY! REGULAR HOURS ON SATURDAY. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MISS THE MAY CHALLENGE THIS FRIDAY, YOU CAN MAKE IT UP ON THURSDAY OR SATURDAY.

Mark Sisson recently posted a few articles about the importance of shoulder mobility and scapular stability.   Of all your joints, the shoulder tops the list in ranges of motion at ten!  (compared with the hips (eight), the ankles (two), the wrists (four), or the spine (five)).  Why is this important?  Just think of how easy it is to tweak, overuse, or worse–injure your shoulders.  Lack of rest, sleeping on it wrong, being inactive or lazy in a movement, the list goes on…

The fact of the matter is that the shoulder, as a mobility joint, needs a proper foundation for it to function properly.

Let’s look at some other movements that require scapular stability:

Bench Press:   Few of us who have grown up in globo-gyms have avoided the inevitable rotator cuff injury from this movement.  The main reason being we were never taught how to properly execute this lift.  We tell you to keep your shoulder blades back (scapular retraction)  so that you create a strong foundation for your shoulders as you press.  A rounded back on the bench will kill both the lift and your shoulders.

Press, OHS (or anything overhead):  “Active shoulders ” and  “shoulders in your ears” are cues we use to elicit scapular elevation.  This prevents the all-too-common shoulder impingement injury when the acromion does not clear the rotator cuff.  Think about Monday’s OHS workout and how difficult it was to do it if you didn’t pull your shoulders back and up to lock in that position (a function of the scapula).

Rowing: Another example of a movement that requires scapular retraction.  Too often we get tired and start rounding the back as we return to the catch, setting us up for trouble.  Mark says that “setting your shoulder blades back and keeping them tight creates a safe, linear path for your primary rowing muscles to travel.”  The sumo deadlift high pull is virtually the rowing movement while standing.  Can you imagine starting the SDHP with a rounded back and shoulders relaxed??

Pull-ups:  The most common perpetrator in shoulder injuries due to the volume of kipping pull ups that can sneak into a WOD (50 in Mondays wod!).  Relaxing the shoulders in any way each time you come down to full extension can wreak havoc on your rotator cuffs.   Keep those scaps back and up (retract & elevate)!!!!

Since knowing is half the battle, I’ll cover the other half on maintenance and rehabilitation in a future post.  In the meantime, get those frozen dixie cups out of the fridge and ice massage after strenuous shoulder activity.

**A HUGE Congrats to Nick, Henderson Fire Department’s Newest Firefighter (That’s where Vegas is!)!!  Guess we have some Intrepid road trips in the near future!**

Front Squat 3×5, 1×15-20
3rds:
10 Hang Power Snatch
50 Double Unders

compare to 03.26.10 and 01.05.10