So you’ve had the goal of getting your first pullup for months, or maybe of overhead squatting your bodyweight. Well, now it’s time to take practical steps to attaining those goals with some simple accessory shoulder work. We recently posted an article on the importance of doing accessory work in addition to your normal crossfit program. This post will cover a few practical things you can add to your warm up or cool down that will provide a quick and simple way to improve your shoulder strength and stability, and help you achieve these goals.
Shoulder strength and stability is a common deficiency in athletes and can be a factor in preventing you from achieving some of your goals. Here are three exercises with recommended sets and reps you can add to your weekly training that will drastically change your shoulder strength and stability.
- Band pull aparts: 3 x 10-15
- Shoulders back and down
- Pinching scapula together at the top of the movement
- Scapular Retractions: 3 x 10-15
- Pulling your shoulders down and away from your ears
- No bend in the arm
- Pullup Negatives: 4 x 5-6 with 3-5 second descent
- Keep lats engaged throughout controlled descent
- Use box to scale if needed
Watch this short video to see a description of each of these exercises:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaH1CKspkPo[/youtube]
Look forward for more post about accessory work that will help you achieve your goals.