Fifth Dimension Fitness

Band Cobras- one of our favorite ways to train and strengthen the harmony between scapular and cuff function.

Being able to stabilize retraction of the shoulder blades while controlling rotation with the external rotators is one very important component of shoulder health and function and can be a help in improving postural positioning (once the rib cage is addressed) and balancing out the pull with the neck muscles above, and all of the big time muscles around the shoulder like the pecs, lats and delts.

And from a muscular development/physique standpoint, this is a great exercise to develop the mid traps (scapular stabilizer), infraspinatus and teres minor (rotator cuff external rotators), which can all help add detail to that road map back there if that’s what you’re after.

Here’s THE helen kash showing how they’re done.

Balancing out pressing and pulling is important. Balancing those out with reaching is another important key that many miss. With reaching, we maintain scapular protraction control while also improving our ability to drive both thoracic and pelvic rotation via the serratus anterior’s connection with our obliques and, when we factor in breathing and rib influences, the diaphragm. Here is one of our favorites to hone in on that thoracic/rib rotation part of it: We call these Free Fall Apical Band Reaching.

Not only are we balancing out the scapular protraction component and influencing the thoracic rotation component, we are also training the reaching side Hemi-diaphragm to push air to the opposite chest wall via its leverage from the same side serratus and obliques, adding to that side to side influence with rotation. These are all things that carry over to better shoulder, back and hip function along with better movement abilities for locomotive movement like walking, skating and running. When you lose the ability to effectively control these connections, compensation and movement faults occur; and it’s also easier to get locked in the sagittal plane of forward and backward movement, making it harder to recover and move effectively when you leave the gym. Train and own your breathing and its influence on rotational/side to side movement and all else will improve. Here’s chas_ferm demoing one of our faves.

One of our favorite ways to retro walk, and train dynamic side to side alternation and reciprocal rotation between pelvis and thoracic spine. Alyssa Miller does them great.

Monday nights are always full of drive. Loving our new outside space.

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