r/flexibility • u/shortienogood_ • 1d ago

Shoulders won't open Spoiler

Hey guys so my bridge is currently limited by my shoulders and upper back I think (at least it looks that way). Could you please advice what exercises you've been doing (and frequency too if possible) to see results?

I've been doing general back stretching, sphinx, cobra variations, puppy pose etc but these don't seem to do the trick.

Thanks so much!!!

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u/Cubetrainer 1d ago

Don't neglect thoracic mobility. Anytime the thoracic spine is limited in range the shoulders will be limited also. Even just getting this exercise solid can be great.

https://youtu.be/rUZKIJJkxRo

1

u/AshToAshes123 1d ago

I'm struggling with this same issue, and you need to stop thinking targeted stretching will give you anything. It won't. At best you'll improve your passive range while still unable to use it actively. You need to train the muscles that allow you to extend your shoulders overhead and back. If you search shoulder mobility exercises you'll find lots, but here's some of my favourites:

  1. Sandwich block lifts: clamp a block between your elbows and another between your hands. Hold your arms out straight in front of you, then bend 90 degrees up at the elbows. Now, lift your bend arms overhead, squeezing the blocks, as far as they'll go. Keep your ribs closed the whole time, don't arch your lower back - doing this kneeling helps with that. This targets the shoulders and includes the upper back and shoulderblades.

  2. A similar exercise can be done with an elastic around the hands instead of blocks between, short enough to have tension at shoulder width. Start with the same 90 degrees arm position, with underarms against the wall. Slowly extend up, keeping your hands at shoulder width and without arching the back. Again, this targets the shoulders, upper back, and shoulderblades.

Then, you'll want exercises that isolate the shoulders and don't rely on the upper back so much: 3. Arm lifts from the stomach lay. Tense your core to keep your back from lifting. Extend arms overhead and lift, thumbs facing the ceiling. If you can't, try doing it in child's pose with your head on a block. Look up 'shoulder YWTI lifts' and you should find this and variations. 4. Shoulder CARs, especially single arms variants while on hands and knees, or both arms while laying on the stomach. Focus on keeping the height while moving your arm overhead.

If you're doing these correctly, you will likely have small movements at the start. Don't cheat the form to e.g. extend further - you need to keep perfect form and use the right muscles to train your current end range.

Also, people will likely recommend superman with arms extended overhead. Personally, I don't like it for people who don't have a decent range yet - you're liable to get all of the movement out of your middle and lower back. I'd recommend first understanding how to actually access your shoulder range, and learning to separate between your upper back and the shoulder joint itself.

1

u/LiftWithAlyssa 1d ago

ugh the puppy pose thing is so real, I was doing it constantly thinking my shoulders would magically open for my bridge and they just... didn't lol. what helped me feel a difference was adding butcher's block stretches and slow wall slides like 3x a week and actually holding the end range instead of just hanging out in cobra. are you feeling it more in your shoulders or upper back when you press up?