HOW: Begin in a plank position with your forearms on the ground, elbows straight down from your shoulders, and your feet straight out from your hips with your toes pushing into the ground. All at the same time, rotate your chest and hips to face one side putting all of your weight on one arm. As you do that, let your feet hold your body up with your toes facing the side your body is now facing. Then, rotate back down to the starting position. 

 

FEEL: You should feel your core and shoulder muscles working. 

 

COMPENSATION: Make sure to rotate your hips and upper half all at once.

HOW: Start by lying face down with your arms out to the side of your in the shape of a “W”. Tuck your chin slightly and lift your head off the ground while still looking down. Then lift just your upper back off the ground – not your lower back. While keeping your upper back off the ground, squeeze your shoulder blades to now lift your elbows and hands off the ground in a W formation. Lift up as high as you can towards the ceiling. You should initiate the motion from the shoulder blade, then allow the shoulder to follow up as high as you can. Hold for a few seconds and slowly return back to the starting position.

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your upper back and back of the shoulder blade and shoulder working with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATIONS: Avoid arching the low back, only lift your upper back. Try your hardest not to let your chest lower as you go through your reps on this exercise. Do not shrug the shoulder blades as you bring your arms overhead.

HOW: Start by lying face down with your arms out to the side of your in the shape of a “T”. Tuck your chin slightly and lift your head off the ground while still looking down. Then lift just your upper back off the ground – not your lower back. While keeping your upper back off the ground, squeeze your shoulder blades to now lift your elbows and hands off the ground in a T formation. Lift up as high as you can towards the ceiling. You should initiate the motion from the shoulder blade, then allow the shoulder to follow up as high as you can. Hold for a few seconds and slowly return back to the starting position.

 

FEEL: You should feel the muscles in your upper back and back of the shoulder blade and shoulder working with this exercise.

 

COMPENSATIONS: Avoid arching the low back, only lift your upper back. Try your hardest not to let your chest lower as you go through your reps on this exercise. Do not shrug the shoulder blades as you bring your arms overhead.

HOW: Start in the tall plank position. Drive your hands into the ground and also imaging driving your elbows into the ground. This is your stable base position. Keeping the core and shoulders engaged and strong, slowly lift one arm and tap your opposite shoulder. Repeat on the other side.

 

FEEL: You should feel all the muscles in your shoulder working, especially in the front part of your shoulder and under your shoulder bladers. You will also feel your core working

 

COMPENSATION: Do not lose your serratus engagement when picking up your opposite hand. Keep strong through the shoulder the entire time. If it is too hard for your core, widen your feet.

HOW: Get set-up standing with a band around your back under your arms, then criss-cross the band in front of you and hold the ends of the band in each hand. Perform a small hip hinge and while maintaining body position, punch both arms up, forward, and slightly diagonally in the orientation of the criss-crossed band. As you punch both arms forward, rotate your hands and arms out as demonstrated in the video so that you are in the finished position with your palms facing up. Your arms are ideally parallel to your trunk in the finished position.

 

FEEL: You should feel your shoulder blades and shoulder muscles working in this exercise. You should feel your shoulder blades moving away from one another and ‘wrapping’ around your body towards your armpits.

 

COMPENSATION: Do not shrug your shoulders, do not bend your elbows, do not lose body position or arch your low back.