BULLETPROOF SHOULDERS FOR STRIKERS
Punching is a tool that is used amongst most striking disciplines within combat sports. This ranges from kickboxing, Muay Thai, karate and most noticeably within boxing. As a result, it is important for these athletes to prioritise keeping their shoulders healthy in order to sustain the work loads that are performed while training.
The shoulder joint is composed of various muscles that work together to help stabilise and produce power. There are several muscles that are responsible for movement at the shoulder joint with the rotator cuff group being one of them. The rotator cuff consists of FOUR muscles which are: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. Other muscles that we need to take into consideration when improving our shoulder mobility include the Pectoralis muscles, and the Latissimus Dors, as examples. As a side note it is beneficial to address your thoracic spine mobility as it works synergistically with your shoulder joint to allow you to bring your arms overhead.
All these muscles contribute to the stability of the joint and over-time they can become ‘over-worked’ from the repetitive nature of skills training which can decrease your mobility and speed up the ‘wear and tear’ on the shoulder joint. If they are not addressed, it can result in overuse injuries down the track.
Here are a few easily actionable exercises that you can use to help improve and strengthen your shoulder mobility
Foam Roller Thoracic Extensions
Place the foam roller directly under your shoulder blades
Focus on keeping your ribs down as you wrap your upper-back around the foam roller
Come back up to your starting position
Repeat for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps
Pectoralis Release + Arm Arcs
Place the trigger ball onto a corner/pole & slightly above your armpit
Lean into the ball & slowly lift your arm up & down
Return to your starting position.
Repeat for 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps
Teres Minor Release
Place the trigger ball a wall behind you & slightly above your armpit
Pull your arm across your body & lean into the ball
Slowly roll around the area for 60 seconds
Complete on both sides for 1-2 sets
Banded External Rotations - Genie Position
Tie a band onto a pole directly across you
Lift your arms to shoulder height & fold them over one another
Hold onto the band & rotate outwards
Slowly return to the starting position
Perform 2 sets of 10-12 reps on each side
My recommendations would be to perform these releases within your warm-up and potentially as filler exercises throughout to help you maximise the time you spend in your skills session perfecting your craft.
If you’d like to have a Practical Manual that you can use and follow for your warm-ups click down below.
—Coach Tyrell