There are hundreds of arm care exercises overhead athletes could be doing to strengthen their shoulders and help reduce the risk of injury, but this exercise is my absolute favorite!
The side plank mid trap raise with controlled lowering checks almost every arm care box there is, while addressing proper core and rib cage positioning. Most athletes struggle to use their mid and lower traps correctly during shoulder exercises, but putting them in a side bridge/side plank position sets them up for success in utilizing the periscapular muscles. Not to mention, the side plank is a great exercise to improve core stability.
There are two phases of this exercise that works on stability and strength of the shoulder and scapula. Phase one is the raise. In this phase I instruct athlete to reach out passed their bottom up with thumbs up and then raise their arm to their midline. The reach helps achieve scapular upward rotation via the serratus anterior and thumbs up put the shoulder into external rotation which helps scapular posterior tilt. The athlete should not bring their arm passed their midline to prevent anterior translation of the humeral head in the glenoid fossa.
Phase two is the controlled lowering process of the exercise. Here the athlete is instructed to internally rotate their shoulder by facing their thumb to ground, then reach and slowly lower their hand to the starting position of phase one. The reach here helps achieve thoracic flexion, which allows the shoulder blade to move smoothly on the rib cage, and allows the posterior rotator cuff musculature and periscapular muscles to control deceleration of the arm. The athlete is forced to work against gravity and the weight to control their arm. This is very similar to the deceleration phase of a throw.
This is exercise can be done at any time throughout the year and can be used as both a warm up or cool down. One thing to note is that you don’t need to go heavy with the weight, 2.5lbs to 8lbs will suffice for any age athlete. Check out the video below for a proper demonstration of the exercise.
