Quick Shoulder Mobility Routine is another excellent mobility and flexibility routine from Tom Merrick. I did this after doing a tough shoulder workout, so my shoulders were already fatigued. This did a great job not only stretching them out, but giving them some additional work. I will say that at times Tom mumbled and it was hard to hear his cues, especially when my face was down on the mat. I will be doing a dedicated shoulder workout every week for the next few weeks and I plan to add this to the end of the workout every time. I have so many shoulder issues that I am hoping doing a routine like this regularly helps. We’ll see!
Quick Shoulder Mobility Routine is 8:53 minutes. Equipment: fitness mat.
- Kneeling on mat, lift arms into an upside down goalpost (arms raise to sides at shoulder level, elbows bent at 90 degrees, forearms facing down w/ palms behind you), moving only the forearms, rotate arms up so that you are in goalpost pushing hands backward then straighten arms, extending them overhead then reverse this motion, lowering arms back into goalpost then lowering forearms only so palms are facing behind you (arms are still raise to shoulder level and extended out to sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees, arms down–starting position) then lower arms to sides, repeat this sequence 10 times
- Lay on stomach on mat, one arm is extended to side at shoulder level, elbow is bent at 90 degrees, lift chest off mat, bringing opposite leg over other leg, stretching the shoulder and chest scorpion-style (see picture), press arm into ground for 5 seconds then relax and try to rotate deeper into stretch, repeat this sequence 3x
- Repeat #2 on other side of body
- Get on hands and knees then lower head and chest toward mat with arms extended overhead on mat, hold briefly; while keeping hands on mat and head down, round spine then lower chest back toward mat, repeat this sequence 5x (think of an active extended child’s pose cat/cow)
- Sit on bottom on mat, hands on mat behind you, knees bent and feet on mat, raise hips into crab and hold for a few seconds, lower bum back to mat, repeat this 5x; the final time hold crab position longer
- Thread the needle pose, reaching hand as far to other side as you can, top arm is extended straight overhead with palm on mat, hold this position for 30 seconds then repeat on other side of body
For more info on Tom Merrick and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
