SHOULDER
EXTERNAL ROTATION - CABLE
CORRECT FORM
1)
Stand with your side to the cable weight machine. Grasp the pulley
handle with the hand that is further away from the machine, your elbow
bent to 90 degrees and your forearm across your body as shown.
2) Begin by
turning outward in a rotational fashion at the shoulder joint. Your
upper arm should come off your side and stay there approximately
4-6 inches from your side.
3) Continue
rotating the shoulder externally until it is at its end-range. Be
sure to maintain the elbow at a 90 degree angle. It is a very common
error to let the elbow flex or extend. You should feel the tension
and burning in the back of the shoulder where the posterior rotator
cuff resides.
4) Return to
the starting position slowly and under control.
5) Inhale as
you return, exhale as you pull the cable.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
The
primary purpose of the cable shoulder external rotation exercise is
to train an area of the body that is naturally very weak and often
neglected - the posterior rotator cuff. Having said that, working
this area in the wrong manner can definitely work against you.
There are two
primary ways people perform this exercise incorrectly:
1)
They do not create enough space between the upper arm and the body.
When the arm is against the body, you decrease the circulation
to the superior, posterior rotator cuff tendon (the supraspinatus
muscle). You are doing this while you are exercising it and increasing
its need for blood. By pulling the arm away from the body, you will
open up this area and increase the circulation. This is very important
2) The other way many people perform this incorrectly is by placing
this exercise anywhere but at the end of a workout. The purpose
of these muscles is to stabilize the shoulder while you perform
larger movements with the arm. These are small muscles and the last
thing you need is to have them fatigued when you are performing
heavy exercises. Do these and other rotator cuff exercises at
the end of your workout.
If you have any existing
shoulder problems, this is not an exercise you should start on your
own. Generally, this exercise will further exacerbate a shoulder tendonitis.
Consult with a physician or physical therapist to determine whether
this exercise is right for you.
EFFECTIVENESS
Performing external
rotation exercises for the shoulder with a cable isolates the posterior
rotator cuff, but does not necessarily train it the way it is used
necessarily. The rotator cuff is a reactionary group of muscles. In
other words, it reacts to other movements by helping to stabilize
the shoulder in a force couple. To that end, this exercise is really
only a small part of an overall rotator cuff/shoulder program.
HELPFUL
WITH TRAINING FOR
Football, Basketball,
Baseball, Hockey, Track and Field, Throwing sports, Tennis/all racquet
sports, Boxing, Wrestling, Martial arts.
|
