This yoga for swimmers article outlines three poses that will develop greater shoulder stability as well as a video of how to sequence the poses.
Down Dog
Cues:
- Start in table top (hands and knees)
- Walk your knees back approximately two inches
- Ensure that you have your shoulders externally rotated. Meaning that your elbow pits are pointed away from you and your triceps are twirling towards each other
- On an exhale press the ground away from you staying connected to your shoulders bring your hips up and back into an inverted ‘V’ position
- Feel active length in the spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head keeping the neck in line with the rest of the spine
High Push Up
Cues:
- Start in table top (hands and knees)
- Keeping the shoulders directly over the elbows and the elbows over the wrists walk your knees back about a few inches
- On an exhale engage the core
- On an inhale bring your knees off of the ground extending your legs towards straight
- Engage your glutes
- Ensure that you have active length in the spine and that the space between your shoulder blades is filled with your upper back
Scap Push Up
Cues:
- Start in a high pushup position
- Keep the core strong and the spine long from the tailbone to the crown of the head
- Keep your arms fully extended as you do this movement
- On an inhale slowly lower your upper body bringing the outside edges of your shoulder blades towards each other
- On an exhale press strongly into the ground raising the body up and feeling the space between the shoulder blades filled with the upper back
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The following yoga for swimmers video takes you through a sequence using all three of the poses described above.
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Ooh I love the high pushup, seems real similar to “yoga pushups” that I learned from my mans, Eric Cressey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvghDKEkT6w
Though he ain’t love scap pushups no more 🙁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=0&v=PwI9vXXl7Bs
Good thoughts and points to think about. I feel if you focus on controlling the points he makes about the scap push up – the neck and shoulder position – you can actually gain greater benefit, but you have to do it with great awareness. By using it in the sequence that is in the video on this page you are gaining the awareness through the down dog to control the points that he is focusing on.
Solid! Will revisit them out, I have got the worst shoulders.