Years ago, I started listening to a legendary strength coach for tips to be better coach. He had been in the industry for years, worked with professional athletes from different sports, and was a lifetime learner. During one of his talks, he mentioned that his experience from working with lots of people from different populations, had made him a good coach. I mention this as I write my final blog article for 2019and we bring 2019 and my 29th year as a coach and trainer to a close. When someone has a problem with shoulder stability, and it’s not from an injury, I follow a specific protocol that has generated successful outcomes. I’ll discuss this strategy in 4 sections.
Posture- You can’t out-train poor nutrition for fat loss, and you can’t help someone with shoulder stability without addressing posture. My first question is can stand in a neutral position that allows their scapulae to sit properly on their rib cage? The scapulaes move along the rib cage in the pattern of a “J”. They glide up and outward as you move your arms overhead. They should be able to do this without flaring off the rib cage, creating what is commonly referred to as “winging”. A simple assessment drill is to have them lay on the ground in a “W” position and have them extend their arms overhead. Observe if they must alter their trunk in either positions or their transition between the two. They must maintain a neutral pelvis throughout. The 2 pictures below demonstrate both positions.
You can observe that I’m slightly tighter in my right shoulder, which doesn’t allow me to keep my forearm completely flat on the ground.
Tissue quality- The next thing to evaluate is the quality of the muscle tissue. Simply put, can the muscles move without restrictions. The areas to look at are the pectorals, the latissimus dorsi, and the thoracic spine. If one or more of these are tight, it is recommended to do a dose of tissue work, using either the Acumobility balls or a foam roller. The drills can include working on a trigger point in the pectorals (specifically pec minor), laterally scrubbing the latissimus dorsi (lat), or working in the thoracic spine (upper back area). The link below displays me performing a lat scrub using a Grid foam roller.
The lat tends to get tacked down and not glide as it should when you move your arms overhead. Spending a couple of minutes performing this technique can do wonders. If the person has never performed any type of rolling, I recommend that you give them a warning prior that it’s not going to tickle. I use the analogy of flossing your teeth. If you have never flossed your teeth before and give it a try, you’ll experience some minor gum bleeding. The tissue isn’t accustomed to the flossing. If the rolling creates some mild discomfort, similar to the gum bleeding, it will dissipate once they become more routine with their rolling.
I’m going to discuss the final 2 sections next month in my first post of 2020. Have a great holiday season and I’ll see you next year!