There are a few tweaks that you can make to your squat form to reduce pressure on your shoulders and improve the exercise for your shoulders.
If your shoulders are giving you trouble during squats, these tweaks will help you feel more confident about your form and allow you to continue improving in strength, endurance, and tone. Squats work almost every muscle group in your body, especially your glutes and quads.
What I wanted to go through in this video are 3 Tweaks to the Squat that will help your shoulders to be happy.
I am going to get Orsy to demonstrate them.
CLICK HERE to watch the YouTube video.
1. I’s with a Suspension Trainer Squat
I am getting Orsy to use a suspension trainer. A suspension trainer squat but just adding a little bit of a tweak. She is in a “touch down” position or I’s. She is pulling back with her arms and activating those scapular muscles, and then she is going through a squat movement.
Suspension Trainer Squat
We are not worried much about the squat, but we are working on those scapular muscles that tend to be weak in people, which tends to get people to have rounded shoulders. Those muscles aren’t working correctly.
2. Y’s with a Suspension Trainer Squat
We are going through squats again. Now we are in that Y Position with the hands. She (Orsy) is pulling back in that “Y” position. We have changed what load we are putting on the scapular muscles.
Y Position
With this one, we focus a little more on the lower trapezius.
3. T’s with a Suspension Trainer Squat
Then we go through that Squat in a ‘T’ Position. With that one, we are working on more rhomboids and mid-trapezius of the mid-back.
T Position
The Last Word
Give those shoulder tweaks a go if you have any shoulder injuries or pain. Go through the bilateral Squat. If you have a suspension trainer, give that a drive.
Do the exercise in that touchdown position. Pulling back and working on those shoulder blade muscles, then going into that “Y” Position, targeting the lower trapezius more, and then going into that “T” position, targeting that mid trapezius and rhomboids.
All those scapular muscles tend to be weak in people that do a lot of texting, do a lot of computer work, do a lot of driving, or have poor posture or shoulder pain.
Swing by ExercisesForInjuries.com and enter in your injury or pain. There is a good chance that I have a video, interview, or blog post that will help you with your injury or pain. (There are over 750 FREE articles.)
Also, head over to YouTube hit “subscribe,” and what that will do is every couple of days, you will get a video like this where I talk about overcoming injury and pain. (There are also over 500 FREE videos there.)
If you are looking for a comprehensive program that targets your scapular muscles, then check out Scapular Stabilization Exercises here:
Rick Kaselj, MS
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