Rotator Cuff Exercises That Can Make a Improvement

By Tom Nicholson

Our shoulders are the key to our range of arm motion. They enable us to lift, throw, raise our arms, scratch our back, swing our arms, and more. We use them a lot! As a result, our shoulders are vulnerable to injury-and stress, age, and other factors contribute to these injuries, as well. The rotator cuff is the muscle in the shoulder and is the part most susceptible to injury. But you can strengthen your rotator cuff muscles with exercises to help safeguard against potential injuries.

Like any other muscle, the development of the rotator cuff muscle requires stretching, toning, and training. This will help make it more resistant to injury, strain, and the effects of advancing age. A stronger rotator cuff is less likely to get injured.

It is important to do the exercises properly to prevent injury during exercising.

These exercises will give you a good starter workout for your rotator cuff muscles.

Start With A Warm up

Warm ups are essential to a good exercise routine-with the rotator cuff as with any other muscle group. You need to stretch the muscles slowly to help prevent injury or muscle strain. Warm ups for your rotator cuff muscles are simple. Arm circles are a great way to start. Complete 20 reps of each movement to make a complete set. Perform three sets.

* Keep your arms firmly to your side and then lift them * Keep lifting your arms towards the sky * Bring your arms down behind your back and then bring them to the starting position again. * Repeat

Alternately, you can simply make imaginary vertical circles with your arms. Begin with your arms at your side and take it slow and easy. Warm up exercises help improve blood circulation, particularly to the muscles, and prepare them for additional exercise.

Rotator cuff rotations

Stand with your feet flat on the floor and balanced. Raise your arms so they extend from your shoulders and are parallel to the ground. Bend your forearm to create a right angle with your elbow. Slowly rotate your shoulders and rotator cuffs. Do 12 reps for each set and three sets altogether. As you progress and gain strength, you can add light weights and then increase the weight slowly to build muscle.

Add Lateral Raises To The Routine

This is one of the most well know rotator cuff exercises. You can hold a weight in either hand and then lift your arms sideways to the point where they are parallel to the floor. This exercise is generally done in three sets of twelve reps.

There are also additional exercises that will work well to strengthen shoulder muscles like the rotator cuff group of muscles. These are a good beginning workout. When you finish, don't forget to cool those muscles down. Simply repeat the exercises you did for the warm up.

Start slow and build up your endurance with these exercises. Don't race through them or it defeats the purpose and actually increases your chance of injuring the muscles instead of building them up. Use a steady, calm pace to maintain muscle control and build strength. - 30453

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