Sue Falsone: External Shoulder Rotation Drill
To focus on exercises for external shoulder rotation, you can look beyond the shoulder to positions that challenge the entire body. Watch as Sue Falsone makes shoulder correctives a full-body workout.
A third exercise I like to do if I specifically want to focus on external rotation of the shoulder is to get them in a position that challenges the entire body—not just working the external rotators of their shoulder.
Here, what I’m going to have Krysten do is to get into a modified side plank.
Her elbow is going to be right under her shoulder here, so we’re going to get some stability of this downward side.
I’m going to have her lift up into a half side plank here.
She’s driving this knee into the ground. She’s getting some stability through this foot. She’s elevating these hips. We’re getting some nice activation of her trunk and in this side body right here. Her head is a natural extension of her spine. Her elbow is going to be slightly off of her body and she is going to externally rotate, aiming for my hand.
And back down. Go ahead and come up again . . . and back down.
Yes, we are working on a classic external rotation exercise, but there are so many other things going on here. We’re incorporating a lot of different stability components including these deep neck flexors, which is a really nice thing to add. I love this activity for my athletes if I simply want to work on strengthening the external rotators.
And rest . . . good job.
Get more assessments and drills from shoulder expert Sue Falsone:
If you are interested in Sue’s work with athletes, you can learn more in her book, Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance.
