Stretches

Shoulder Stretches

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Shoulder stretches for anyone who feels stiff reaching overhead or behind the back, or who wants a warm-up before upper-body training. The page has filmed moves, from arm circles and pass-throughs to a pec stretch and lat rolling, with a sequence to follow and guided routines.

Shoulder stretches with video

These are the 8 movements from the MoveWell library for this area. Each page has a demo, numbered steps, the muscles worked and common mistakes.

Arm Circles demonstrationArm Circles10 to 15 seconds each direction, 1 to 2 rounds. Around the Body demonstrationAround the Body5 to 10 slow circles each direction. Pass Through demonstrationPass Through10 slow reps. Shoulder Rolls demonstrationShoulder Rolls10 rolls each direction. Lat Smash demonstrationLat Smash60 to 90 seconds per side. Double Flat Needle Pose demonstrationDouble Flat Needle Pose30 to 60 seconds. Pec Stretch demonstrationPec Stretch30 seconds per side. Reach Through Shoulder Stretch demonstrationReach Through Shoulder Stretch20 to 30 seconds per side.

A simple shoulder sequence

Do these in order: warm-up drills first, then any rolling, then the longer holds. Move slowly and stop if anything is sharp or numb.

#MovementHold or repsSides
1Arm Circles15 s each wayn/a
2Around the Body5–10 each wayn/a
3Pass Through10 repsn/a
4Shoulder Rolls10 each wayn/a
5Lat Smash60 s/sideEach side
6Double Flat Needle Pose45 sn/a
7Pec Stretch30 s/sideEach side
8Reach Through Shoulder Stretch30 s/sideEach side
JR

Joel is the founder of MoveWell and IMPOSSIBLE. He became the youngest person to run an ultra marathon on every continent, and created MoveWell to make recovery easy with routines he would actually do.

More stretches

Banded Trap Stretch demonstrationTrapezius StretchesStretches for the upper traps, between the neck and shoulder.4 movements Lat Smash demonstrationUpper Body StretchesOne sequence for the shoulders, chest and upper back.8 movements Pec Stretch demonstrationChest StretchesStretches that open the chest and the front of the shoulders.5 movements
View all stretches →