Arm Circles
Arm Circles
Muscle Group(s) Stretched: Shoulders
Muscle Group(s) Strengthened: n/a
Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic
Difficulty: All Levels
Suggested Prerequisites: none
I actually felt a little silly making a whole entry for this exercise because almost everyone knows how to do it intuitively - but I still wanted to list it! So I’ll include some variations I like to “spice it up” and make it a bit more challenging/interesting than just regular ol’ arm circles.
How To
Step 1 (… the only step)
Standing or kneeling, extend your arms out to the sides and start to trace big circles. These can be relaxed/floppy circles, making them as big (or as small) as feels comfortable. Don’t worry if you hear/feel some popping or clicking in your shoulders (as long as it doesn’t hurt!).
Do 5-10 relaxed circles in one direction, then switch directions
Variations
Small-to-big - Start with your arms straight out to the side at shoulder height, making the tiniest circles you can. Slowly start making your arm circles bigger, until you’re doing them as big as you can, then switch directions and shrink them back down to tiny circles
Go-go gadget arms - Slow down your big arm circles, actively reaching your arms as long as you can (imagining you are doing “go go gadget arms”), trying to trace the biggest circle with your fingertips humanly possible. You should be able to feel your upper arms and shoulders engage as you reach in each direction.
Hand reach/touch challenge - This is another variation best done slowly. Keeping your arms straight, try to keep your hands as close to each other as you can as you circle your arms. When your arms are in front of your body, that’s easy! So when arms are in front, touch your fingertips together. As you’re circling your arms backwards, keep those fingertips reaching towards each other as much as you can even when they are pulled apart. As soon as you can bring those hands together again, bring the fingertips back to touch (this might be behind your hips or in front).
Related Content
Flexopedia: Robot Arms
Blog Post: The Importance of “External Shoulder Rotation” in a Backbend
Blog Post: 5 Drills for Improving Overhead External Shoulder Rotation
Blog Post: How to Get More Open Shoulders in a Bridge
