Video Class Strength-mf: Movement Foundations 3: Shoulders (36 mins)

Description

Strength Video:
Movement Foundations 3: Shoulders

Do you ever feel your neck or lower back joining in when you’re meant to be working your shoulders? Or find that overhead reaching tightens or catches somewhere you can’t quite pinpoint? Perhaps you’ve noticed you get headaches after a workout or a long day of reaching and carrying – often a sign your upper traps are doing work that your lower traps and rotator cuff should be handling.

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Learn the technique. Build the foundation. Move with strength.

Do you ever feel your neck or lower back joining in when you’re meant to be working your shoulders? Or find that overhead reaching tightens or catches somewhere you can’t quite pinpoint? Perhaps you’ve been told to pull your shoulders back and stand up straight, but it’s never actually helped.

The third in our Movement Foundations series, this technique-focused session explores how your shoulder blades move around your ribcage to create stability, mobility and control through your shoulders, upper back and neck.

Drawing on Pilates and functional movement principles, we’ll look at how to isolate the movement of your shoulder blades from your ribcage and spine, so each part does its own job rather than your neck or lower back compensating. You’ll learn what you’re looking for, what good technique feels like, and how to build genuine stability without losing control.

We’ll work through a range of exercises and progressions, using a foam roller, a Pilates ball and a resistance band – from simple isolations lying down, to loaded work on all fours, to standing rotator cuff strengthening against a wall. You’ll practise keeping your ribcage still while your shoulder blades move, then reversing it, before adding the rotational strength work that builds real stability, not just range.

The aim isn’t simply to gain more movement in your shoulders for the sake of it, but to develop the control and strength that let you reach overhead, carry, push and rotate with confidence — without your neck, ribs or lower back quietly picking up the slack.

This is an opportunity to slow down, understand what’s actually happening around your shoulder blades, and develop techniques which will support you in both your strength sessions and your everyday movement.

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This is especially useful if:

• Your neck or upper back feels the strain instead of your shoulders
• You get headaches after shoulder work, or after a day of overhead reaching and carrying
• You’ve been told to “pull your shoulders back” and it’s never actually helped
• Overhead reaching – a shelf, a cupboard –  feels tight or catches somewhere
• You’re working to protect or rebuild strength after a rotator cuff issue
• You round forward at a desk and want genuine strength there, not just a stretch

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You’ll learn to :

• Shift the work from your upper traps into your lower traps and rotator cuff, where it belongs
• Feel and isolate the movement of your shoulder blades, separate from your ribcage and spine
• Coordinate your ribcage, core and shoulder blades so your back doesn’t compensate
• Build genuine rotator cuff strength and stability, not just flexibility
• Recognise and correct common compensations, including flaring ribs and an unwanted backbend
• Take that control into everyday reaching, lifting and overhead movement

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Recommended Props:

• A foam roller – or a long, firmly rolled blanket, narrow enough to fit between your shoulder blades
• A Pilates ball or small cushion, to hold between your hands for extra feedback
• A light resistance loop band, for the external rotation work
• Optional: light hand weights, once the basic pattern feels controlled
• A wall, for the standing rotation and press-up work

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Come back to this session whenever you want to refresh your technique, check your form or build greater ease and strength through your shoulders.

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You May Also Enjoy

• Strength for Beginners – Try Beginner Friendly Class for a whole-body strength session where you can put your technique into practice at a manageable pace.
• Strength: Movement Foundations 1_Abdominals – The first in our Movement Foundations series, this technique-focused session teaches you how to use your abdominal muscles effectively and appropriately, so you can build strength without losing control.
• Strength: Movement Foundations 2_Glutes – The second in our Movement Foundations series, this technique-focused session teaches you how to use your glutes effectively to build hip stability and everyday

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As soon as we receive confirmation of your payment, our admin will email you a link to the video (mp4 format) where you can play the recording.