Shoulder Pre/Rehab Exercises

Shoulder pain and injuries are a common complaint in several sports such as tennis, rugby, volleyball, netball etc. Shoulder pain can either be caused by an acute injury or build up over time as an overuse injury. The general population can also experience shoulder problems often caused by muscular imbalances or overuse. If the pain is caused my muscular imbalances this can often be improved by simple rotator cuff exercises (See underneath).

The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint which means it allows a lot of movement. In order to protect the shoulder from moving too much and keep the arm (humerus) into the socket (glenoid fossa), the shoulder consist of the rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis) which are there to provide stability of the shoulder. The exercises I will explain target these muscles as well as other important muscles in close relation to the shoulder. You should read the guidelines underneath and please be aware that you should not perform these exercises if you experience any pain whilst doing them.

Type: Strength exercises to improve shoulder mobility and strength

Purpose: To mobilise the shoulders and strengthen the muscles around the shoulder

Suitable for: All sportsmen and women participating in overhead sports as well as the general public

Equipment needed: Resistance band

Repetitions and sets:

3 sets per exercise

10- 15 repetitions per exercise

120-180 seconds recovery between sets

The workout

Picture 1

Picture 2

1. TWY with resistance band

• Attach a resistance band onto something firm on the wall about chest height (door handle etc)

• Grab the band in each hand with your palms facing forwards and your thumbs pointing up

• Stand with your feet hip width apart facing the wall, back straight and chest out

Picture 3

• T- Pull the band with straight arms and open up your chest, this should be around shoulder height (looks like a T when looking from behind - Picture 1)

• W- Pull the band by bending your elbows and open up till your elbows are at 90° (looks like a W when looking from behind - Picture 2)

• Y- With straight arms pull the band above your head (looks like a Y when looking from behind -Picture 3)

• Focus on keeping your back straight, all the movement should be done with your shoulders and arms

• Repeat this 8-10 times on each letter


2. Scapular push ups

Picture 1

• Start in a press up position with hands shoulder width apart on the floor (Picture 1)

• Start with arms straight and make sure abdominals are pulled in prior to starting

• You can choose to do this exercises on your toes or on your knees

• Lower yourself down by pulling your shoulder blades together at the back (Picture 2)

Picture 2

 • Push yourself back up to the starting position

• Keep the arms straight all the way through the movement

• There is not a lot of movement when you do this exercise correctly, but the focus is on retracting your shoulder blades together. As you can see there is not a lot of movement on this exercise.

• Repeat 10 – 15 times

Picture 1

3. External rotation with resistance band

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart next to a wall (the hand you are using should be furthest away from the wall)

• Grab one end of the resistance band with your right hand

• Bend your elbow to 90° and place it next to your ribs (Picture 1)

• Before you start make sure there is some tension in the band when you hold your elbows to 90°



Picture 2

 • Pull the resistance outwards whilst still keeping your elbow close to your body (Picture 2)

• Internally rotate your shoulder and elbow to come back to the starting position and repeat
• Repeat 10 – 15 times on each arm

4. Internal rotation with resistance band




Picture 1



Picture 2













• Attach a resistance band onto something firm on the wall about elbow height (door handle etc)

• Grab hold of the resistance band with the arm closest to the wall (Picture 1)

• Now pull the band towards your belly button whilst keeping yout elbow close to the side (Picture 2)

• If this is easy, increase the distance from the wall to increase the tension of the band

• Repeat 10 – 15 times on each side

Picture 1

 5. Subscapularis pull with resistance band



• Attach a resistance band onto something firm on the wall about shoulder height (door handle etc)

• Stand sideways 1.5-2 metres away from the wall with the closest arm to the wall holding the band with an overhand grip

• Start off with your arm straight out from the side (Picture 1)

Picture 2

• Make sure your abdominals are pulled in and that your back is nice and tall prior to starting this exercise

• Start the exercise by pulling the band behind your back by flexing your elbow until you reach  about 90° behind your back (Picture 2)

• Extend your elbow back to the starting position

• Repeat 10 – 15 times on each side

6. Scapular wall slides

Picture 1



• Position yourself approximately 30 centimetres away from a wall, facing away from the wall

• Feet should be shoulder width apart

•Place your elbows onto the wall , make sure your hands and forearms are in contact with the wall (Picture 1)

• Slowly move your arms up the wall (let your hands meet above your head if possible - (Picture 2) then lower your arms just below the starting position

• Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together at the bottom position



Picture 2

• It is important to keep your elbow and forearms in contact with the wall throughout the whole execution of the movement

• Also focus on keeping your shoulders depressed throughout the movement

• Repeat 10 – 15 times

7. Supraspinatus abduction with resistance band (Sorry didn't have a picture of this one)

• Place one foot on top of one end of the resistance band

• Grab the band with opposite hand with an overhand grip

• Feet should be hip width apart and abdominals pulled in prior to starting the exercise

• Keep your arm straight while abduction your arm out till the side, stop when you reach 90° (in line with your shoulder)

• Lower your arm back to the starting position

• If this is easy, create more tension on the band prior to starting the exercise

• Repeat this 10 – 15 times on each arm

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Always warm up with 5 minutes of easy shoulder mobility movements such as backwards and forwards arms swings, shoulder rotations, alternate forwards and backwards arm swings etc.

Always cool down after the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching for the main muscles used in the work out. Hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds and do 2-3 sets of each stretch.

Hope this was useful. Thanks

MoTo