Front Shoulder Stretch

     Hey guys!

     This week I have a front deltoids stretch to introduce into your stretching or workout routine.

     Some people have shoulder pain or limited range-of-motion because their front deltoids are tight or overdeveloped in relation to the other two heads of the shoulder. This usually results from too much emphasis on pressing movements in your routine.

    This can affect the intensity of your workout to a great degree and limit the amount of exercises you can perform.

     Some people cannot perform exercises such as dips, dumbbell flys, or behind-the-neck presses because of this limit in their range of motion, or they cannot perform as great a range-of-motion as they should.

     If you are into bodybuilding, having adequate flexibility is a must. You need to have that increased range-of-motion in order to bring more muscle fibers into the exercise. Not only that, but if you have limited mobility you will not be able to perform the wide range of exercises needed to develop an aesthetic physique.

     But those are just a few reasons to perform this stretch, here are the instructions to perform this stretch.

1. Start with your feet at shoulder-width, standing tall.
2. Bring your hands behind your body, clasp them together, bring them as high as possible, and press them against your back.
3. Press against your back with your hands and simultaneously push back with your chest to stretch the front deltoids.

Side View

                                                                                                             Rear View

     As with any other stretch, do not stretch too far. You want to stretch just enough so that your nervous system allows the stretch to happen without resisting. If you read my previous post you will know that your nervous system is designed to tighten your muscles if you stretch too far, too fast. Going too far in this stretch can cause you discomfort and hurt your shoulder joint.

     This stretch can be an effective warm-up for dips and flys, exercises that put a lot of stress on the shoulder joint and require adequate shoulder flexibility to recruit more muscle fiber in the extended range-of-motion.

     I know the pictures I used in this post are not the best, but I wanted to give you guys a visual aspect as well as a description of the movement. If you guys have any questions please let me know by leaving a comment. As always, more exercises, stretches, and advice coming soon.

     Get Stronger!
          -Nas