Forward Shoulder Circle

oec:forward-shoulder-circle

A bodyweight mobility drill where the shoulders and elbows cycle in a forward circular motion with fingertips on the shoulders to mobilize the shoulder girdle.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Forward Shoulder Rotation, Forward Elbow Circle, Bent-Arm Shoulder Circle, Forward Shoulder Roll

How to do it

Setup

Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart and your spine in a neutral posture.
Rest the fingertips of each hand lightly on the tops of your shoulders with your elbows pointing forward.

Movement

Trace large, controlled forward circles with your elbows, moving them forward, down, backward, and back up to the starting point.
Allow your shoulder blades to glide naturally along your rib cage through retraction, depression, protraction, and elevation.
Continue rotating in a continuous, smooth rhythm for the prescribed repetitions or duration.

Breathing

Maintain steady, rhythmic breathing throughout the movement, inhaling as the elbows lift and exhaling as they circle down.

Cues

Draw big circles with the elbows
Keep the neck relaxed
Control the full circle

Common faults

Excessively shrugging the neck and tensing the upper trapezius.: Keep your neck relaxed and draw the circles from the shoulder joint and shoulder blades rather than hunching your neck.
Hyperextending the lower back to compensate for limited shoulder mobility.: Keep your abdominal wall lightly braced and your ribs anchored down while isolating movement to the shoulders.

Safety

Perform the circles within a comfortable, pain-free range of motion if you have a history of shoulder impingement.

Muscles

Deltoid prime mover
Rotator cuff synergist
Trapezius synergist
Serratus anterior synergist
Rhomboids synergist
Pectoralis major synergist

Joints

Shoulder: Circumduction
Shoulder blade: Elevation, Depression, Protraction, Retraction
Elbow: Flexion

Details

Movement: Mobility drill
Modality: Mobility, Calisthenics
Mechanics: compound
Force: not applicable
Laterality: bilateral
Kinetic chain: open
Level: beginner
Equipment: None
Record: Repetitions; or Duration
Load: none, not applicable

variation of Forward Arm Circle

Sources

wger: Forward shoulder rotation (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

forward-shoulder-circle.json