As we age, shoulder strength is often overlooked as a key fitness component in activities of daily living. Physical therapists and other medical professionals tend to focus on maintaining strength in their patients' lower bodies, and for good reason.
While lower body strength is paramount for mobility, upper body weakness can also pose problems for the aging adult.
This week, I'll provide a few tips for maintaining shoulder strength and introduce a shoulder exercise that's appropriate for all fitness levels.
The nature of human movement dictates that we will rely upon the lower body muscles to a greater degree than the upper body groups. The quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscle groups are critical to ensuring independence as we enter retirement and beyond. But the shoulder muscles also play an important role in maintaining quality of life.
The shoulder muscles are the hub of upper body mobility and performance, but the shoulder is one of the body's more unstable joints. This leaves shoulders particularly susceptible to injury when muscles become a little weak. To maintain shoulder strength, it's important to perform strength training two to three days per week.
When most people hear the term "strength training" they think of heavy dumbbells and barbells. The truth is that really effective strength training, especially for small muscles like those at the shoulder, can be done without any of that equipment.
Depending on your fitness level, a milk jug or soup can could provide enough resistance. Those with more fitness experience can benefit from the use of commercial fitness equipment, but I think it's important to understand that we all have to start somewhere.
Shoulder strengthening should be addressed from the inside out. In other words, work on the small, supportive muscles around the shoulder joint before you address the larger sections of the deltoid. This will ensure that your shoulder stability progresses at a rate equal to or above improvements in the larger, more powerful muscles. That said, you can perform lower intensity shoulder exercises that won't necessarily compromise the rotator cuff's integrity -- so long as they are done correctly.
This week's exercise is a very simple shoulder strengthening movement that requires only a small ball. The Wall Ball Roll is an easy exercise that will benefit people of all fitness levels, but it can be particularly useful for older adults looking to add some shoulder strengthening to their routine.
1. Select a small medicine ball or Pilates ball.
2. Stand two to three feet away from the wall with your right shoulder facing it.
3. Position the ball against the wall at shoulder height, holding it with your right arm outstretched.
4. Make small circles with the ball by rolling it clockwise with your right hand.
5. Perform 10 circles, then reverse direction and repeat.
6. Switch arms and perform another 2 sets.
I love this exercise because it's not intimidating and you can immediately feel the "burn" in the muscles. It's more endurance-based as opposed to strength-based, which also makes it more relevant for activities of daily living than busting out repetitions with massive weights can be.
All in all, it's a really relevant movement that can have a significant impact on shoulder function. Enjoy!
Matt Parrott has a doctorate in education (sport studies) and a master's in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.
ActiveStyle on 06/30/2014