Tailored Fitness Move
External Shoulder Rotation

External shoulder rotation is important because many people have overly tight, and stronger pecs, and weak rotators. This causes your shoulders to internally rotate so that the backs of your hands face the front (when viewed from the front and your arms are hanging by your sides) instead of your palms facing the sides of your thighs.

To perform external shoulder rotation, lay on a bench on your side, either with a hand on the floor as pictured or under your head. Bend the top elbow 90 degrees and hold a light dumbbell in your hand in front of your belly.

Externally rotate your arm by keeping your upper arm in contact with your body and raising the back of your hand in an arc up and back as far as you can. Keep the arm bent at 90 degrees the entire time.

Pause at the top and then slowly return to the starting position.

Don't rotate your torso at all, and keep the arm locked down tight against your body. Make the muscles at the back of your shoulders do all the work. You won't need a lot of weight and if you do it right, you'll know where the external rotators of your shoulder are.

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