Do you know what happens when you sit at a desk for too long, shoulders rolled forward, spine rounded? Over time, your body adapts to muscles being shortened (pecs, front delts, hip flexors) and your back muscles being lengthened (scapula, rotators, spine etc.). The result when you start exercising can be disastrous. Enough years pass and even if you don’t exercise regularly, it catches up to you in the form of back pain, shoulder aches, etc.

You don’t have to put in long workouts to get your body moving well. I recommend 30 – 60 minutes of daily exercise so you maintain muscle mass as you age, however, just ten minutes a day of joint mobility and movement can have a big impact and help reduce pain.

In this video, I take you through five of my favourite shoulder drills to get your shoulders moving better. I’ll release a spine video soon, so stay tuned.

You can try some of these movements to see how they feel for you. If you’re in a lot of pain, be sure to consult with a physiotherapist before trying them.

I used a band and a 2.5 plate in the video but they can be substituted with bungee cord and a can of food.

Exercise 1: Shoulder Circles
Exercise 2: Shoulder Clocks (4 parts)
Exercise 3: Weighted Lying Shoulder Circles
Exercise 4: Banded Distractions
Exercise 5: Wall Angels

Have tight hips? Watch my 10 minute hip video here.