- All right, today we're gonna talk to you about shoulder health, particularly with people
that are maybe over 50. I know because I'm actually over 60 now. And we're gonna show you
three particular exercises that are gonna help keep your shoulder mobile, healthy, pain-free, and it only takes two minutes. - So if your shoulder is feeling tight, and your job before is very
physically demanding on it, we're gonna show you three exercises to help improve your posture, get it unlocked and moving
proper, and make you feel great. (upbeat music) - All right. Now, with the shoulder,
we have to keep in mind, it is likely the most
complicated joint in the body. Remember, it goes out to the side, up in front, behind your back behind your head, across your chest, all directions, and you can actually swing it like this, and it's just amazing. Now, if you have tight muscles, if the capsule of the joint gets tight, or you have arthritis in that joint, all three of those things
can really raise havoc on that shoulder and lock it up. We need to unlock it, free
that joint, and get you moving. - So now we're gonna walk
you through three exercises you can do. They're all gonna be done
in a seated position, and it'll only take a couple of minutes, and the most important
part about these exercises is to get your scapula, or shoulder blade, moving properly again. - That's right. So most people think
of the ball-and-socket, which is a very critical
part of the shoulder to move, but if the scapula is not moving
freely across the ribcage, there's gonna be big problems, and the socket and the
ball aspect of the joint will not work. So the scapula must float
all the way up to here to approximately 60 degrees. You don't need to remember that, but just remember, free motion of the scapula
is absolutely necessary, as well as the ball-and-socket freedom for a pain-free shoulder that is gonna get you everything you want. - How you might know if you
have a tight shoulder complex would be if you're trying to
reach up into a tight cupboard, and you can't get there,
or are experiencing pain. Another symptom would be is if you're reaching
back behind your head, say you're fixing your hair, or for females maybe putting on your bra, that can be painful as well. And also, if you're experiencing
any type of headaches, or tension on this side, or maybe even referring
pain down in your arm, those are all problems, saying that your shoulder complex is not functioning properly, and we need to get it moving correctly. - You hit it right on the head, Mike. Good work-
- Thank you. - Okay, exercise number one. The goal for this exercise
is to get your scapula, your shoulder blade, moving across that rib cage. So just like we show it right here, gonna take that away. Mike, bring your arms out. Now with your elbows locked and straight, think about bringing your shoulders, rounding your shoulders. So now his shoulder blades, my hand represents your shoulder blades, are sliding forward. Now, I want you to keep
your elbows locked, and bring your shoulders back. And you can see my hands are much closer. Actually, let's turn this way, Mike. There we go. Forward and back. And I'm right on his shoulder blades. Forward and back. Now I'll show you how you can
do this in a seated position. Okay, now I wanna show you, it's best probably to do this in a seated position at a desk or a table. You're gonna sit on a
chair, good tall posture, hands on the table, and straight elbows, do not let them move, and think about sliding
your hands forward. The only way you can get
your hands to slide forward is by those scapula, the shoulder blades, sliding across the ribcage and forward. And now I'm gonna go back. So I'm actually doing the exact same motion
Mike was doing standing, but we're using the table as a guide, as well as holding the weight of the arms. Allows scapula motion, and back, and I'm really getting a lotta motion. You will feel those
shoulder blades moving, and that's what you're looking for. Motion of the shoulder
blades equals motion of the whole shoulder. Okay, the second exercise, we wanna unlock those shoulder blades in the vertical up and down position. So first thing you'll need to do, and we're gonna do this
in a seated or standing, right now, standing as
posture, good posture, but make sure you're not all tight. Good posture in a relaxed manner. Nothing real tight here. And we're gonna look
at the shoulder blade. Yep. Let's turn this way, Mark. Okay, let's look at the shoulder blade. Can you go up and down. So we're getting about inch and a half, two inches of motion on there, just by going up and down
with those shoulders. Again, relaxed breathing posture. Now we're gonna show you
too how to do it in a chair, which is a little more convenient. Okay, so exercise number
two in a seated position. First thing, as always, posture. Get the shoulders back, head up, everything in line, but relaxed. Now simply elevate the
shoulders up to the ears, and then drop them down. Now, and actually, the shoulder
armrests may get in the way. Scoot forward a little bit so they aren't. So we have a good free motion. Feel those shoulder
blades sliding up and down across those ribcage. It's happening, whether
you feel it or not, you'll know it after you
concentrate on it for a little bit. Now, if you wanna, if you're
a more able person, stronger, and you have this motion down really well, what you can do to add a
little strengthening to this is what we call, well, we always used to call
these wheelchair pushups, or in a chair, arms here, push yourself up, lock
the elbows, and do this. Now, this is gonna be, again, for those more active people, people who are the step
up as far as strength, to give you a little more challenge. But always make sure you can
do this without that option. That's strictly an option. Let's go on to number three. - Exercise number three
is a stretch for the lats, or the latissimus dorsi muscle. And if this muscle is tight, it can actually pull your
scapula down and depress it, causing more pain, and not allowing your
shoulder to move properly. So to stretch the lat, we're gonna show you a
version seated first, which Brad is gonna demonstrate now. So he's leaning forward, he's gonna put pressure
through the palm of his hands, and he's gonna slowly
bring his upper body back as his hands don't move much. This is gonna put a nice
stretch on the latissimus dorsi, getting that shoulder to
function properly later on. Do you have anything else
to add about this, Brad? - Nope. Just keep those hands still, and bring your, slide your
butt back in the chair, and I can feel that muscle stretch and that scapula moving upward. This is a real critical exercise, probably the most critical
exercise of the three. Now, Mike is gonna show you how to do it on your hands and knees,
either in bed or on the floor. - So this is another option
for exercise number three. It is gonna be the same stretch, but in a different position. So if that position worked for you what Brad was just showing, stick to that. If you wanna get a little more stretch, and you're able to get
on your hands and knees, then this is the version you can try. So I'm gonna get in a quadruped position, meaning I'm on all four limbs here. For me personally, it's better if I bring my feet together so I can sit back easier. It's gonna depend on
your specific anatomy, what feels best for you there. So I'm gonna- - Mike, I just wanna interrupt. You can do this on your bed,
possibly, or on the floor, and we're gonna first show
it as if it's on a bed, a softer surface. - Yes. So I'm gonna push down through my hands, and I'm gonna slowly sit
back towards my heels with my buttock. As I'm doing this, I'm
pushing down through my hands. You may not be able to get down
to this full range of motion and you can just do little
rocking motions like this to start feeling the stretch. Once it becomes easier, you can push down and try and hold this. Is there a certain amount of time they should do this for, Brad? - Well, I wanna emphasize, this shoulder blade is going forward, stretching that latissimus dorsi muscle, that big muscle here. Feel the stretch. I would hold it for five to
10 seconds to start with. As you get used to it, and you feel like you wanna
get a more aggressive stretch, 15 seconds, maybe up to 30
if you can tolerate that. And if you want, if you have a tight
shoulder, say on this side, it feels tighter than on this side, you're gonna take that arm and
cross over to the other hand. And Mike, you feel an intensity
of that stretch right there? - [Mike] Yes. - There you go. That's
the way to advance it. Three to five times,
probably, to start with. As you do it more and more, you'll feel if you wanna
go more than that or not, or just hold it longer. - So if your bed is too soft, and you wanna do this
exercise on the floor, a simple suggestion would be to put a pillow underneath
your knees to begin with, and start there. If say the top of your ankle
is getting problematic, you can also put a pillow there as well, and take some pressure
off of those joints. The point of the stretch is
to stretch the shoulder blade, and get it back in its proper place. So we're not too worried about what your legs are doing here. - We just want 'em to feel comfortable, and enjoy, relax to stretch. If you're in pain down in the
ankles, things are not fun, you do not relax so well. So, Mike, I have to say,
you're doing a outstanding job. - Well, thanks. - I do wanna say, overall, do all these exercise,
three to five repetitions. There's no repetition set in stone. Do 'em as comfort. Start out with less, less
time, and less repetition. As you do 'em more, you'll get a feel for how
long you need to do that. We're not gonna spend five or 10 minutes, again, two minutes is on the title. That's what it will condense down to, once you do 'em, oh, five or 10 times. - It's important to start
slow with these exercises. You don't wanna do too much too soon, and be overly aggressive. So start gentle with each stretch. Maybe only do one or two a
day, and build up over time. - That's right. So, again, consistency, and we all know things
don't happen magically. You may find a great benefit
in that first day or two, but you wanna continue with it, even if you do or you
don't, after a week or so, you're gonna start to notice, "Ah, I can reach into
that cupboard higher. I can comb my hair without
that pain and tightness." Things happen over time. Continue, continue, and you will find the
results very helpful. I feel better already, don't you? - Yes.
- Yeah. Okay. So you're gonna have good results with these exercises, I'm sure. Again, do 'em throughout today. Unlock those shoulder blades, get some mobility going, and be happy. - Let us know in the comments section what worked for you in this video. Also, check out the other comments, and let us know what we forgot, because there are many ways to get your shoulders
functioning well again. If you would like to
find more videos on this, pinned to the top of the comments section we'll link five more videos
relating to shoulder pain, and maybe if this video didn't work, some of the tips and tricks from that one might work for you. - We're gonna do that? - We always do it- - Really?
- We've been doing it. - Excellent. I haven't watched the
whole video myself, but... Just kidding. Just kidding. Yeah, it's very helpful. Quick reference. All right, I'm done. I've gotta take a break. - Goodbye. (upbeat music)
