Our 4 Favorite Rotator Cuff Exercises
The rotator cuff is an area of the body we often think about in terms of injury. We tend to hear quite a bit about "rotator cuff tears" and "rotator cuff pain," as well as specific exercises designed to treat these conditions.
But did you know the rotator cuff is worthy of our attention outside the context of pain and injury, too?
The rotator cuff plays an integral role in the structure and function of the shoulder complex, and at Strength for Yoga, we value targeting this area for building strength.
What is the rotator cuff?
Quick anatomy lesson: the rotator cuff is a group of four small muscles (and their tendons) that connect our shoulder blade (scapula) to our upper arm bone (humerus).
We won't get into the nitty gritty details of these muscles here in this email :), but we do think it's helpful to know their names! These are the four muscles of the rotator cuff:
infraspinatus
teres minor
supraspinatus
subscapularis
What does the rotator cuff do?
As the name implies, the rotator cuff muscles do rotate the shoulder. :)
But that's not all they do! The rotator cuff also works to stabilize the head of the humerus in the shoulder socket as the arm moves.
Given the multiple roles this muscle group plays, we like to target this area in a variety of different ways in Strength for Yoga.
With this in mind, here are 4 of our favorite exercises for building rotator cuff strength!
1) Palms-Up External Rotation
In this exercise, we keep our elbows close to our sides as we pull apart on a resistance band and move our hands back toward each other with control.
This challenges the external rotation action of the rotator cuff in a dynamic manner.
2) Arm Bar
In the arm bar, we start in a supine position, holding a kettlebell directly above our shoulder.
We then maintain that spatial relationship of the kettlebell above our shoulder as we roll onto our side.
Our rotator cuff is challenged to stabilize the kettlebell as the rest of the body moves through space!
3) Bottoms-Up Overhead Press
This is a potent and challenging shoulder stability exercise!
In a normal overhead press, the "body" of the kettlebell hangs down, leaning on our forearm. But in this bottoms-up variation, we balance the kettlebell heavy-side-up as we press it overhead.
This is a major challenge for both our grip strength and our rotator cuff strength!
4) Bent-Over Cuban Press
In this dynamic rotator cuff exercise, we start with our torso hinged forward and our arms hanging straight down.
Then we challenge our rotator cuff as we pull our elbows out wide and back, point our hands forward, and straighten our arms to frame our ears.
We then reverse the movement and start again. You will definitely feel your rotator cuff light up with this one!
Want to build ROTATOR CUFF strength WITH us?
Order our 5 Weeks to Strong & Flexible Shoulders program!
A series of 20-25 minute strength practices emailed to you every 3 days for 5 weeks
Led practices – just hit play and follow along with Jenni & Travis!
Minimal equipment requirements (1-2 dumbbells or kettlebells & 1 resistance band)
Tons of educational nuggets interspersed throughout the practices on topics like anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics
Lifetime access to all practices at the end of the 5 weeks!
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