Hopefully you started this series with the first article on 5 Exercises to Keep You Out of the Doctor’s Office. This article will finish the list for you so that you can keep your entire body ready to move. Keeping your muscles and joints healthy, preventing injury and staying more active will help us stay happier well into our retirement years. This series of articles is my way of trying to help you achieve your goal(s). Working with thousands of people with weakness and tightness has taught me some important patterns that I want to share with you to help you avoid the same problems.

The good news is that this information can help you focus on what should have the most positive impact. The bad news is that in order for these exercises to work, you have to ‘do’ them. That takes dedication and a little time. With all these factors in mind, I created a mini ‘circuit’ routine to address common problem areas. Splitting this into an upper and lower body routine hopefully allows you to keep the time commitment to a minimum, while still getting all the work you need. Some sports require more upper body conditioning and some require more from the lower body. This will help you focus on the areas of the body that need the most work to get in shape.

To make it easier, the original article has been split into upper and lower body articles with this one focusing on the upper body. Both articles contain one ‘core’ exercise because the core is essential in stabilizing the body and transferring momentum from the lower body to the upper body.

1.Leaning Pushups Plus – get a sturdy chair and place your hands about shoulder width apart on the front of the chair. Slowly walk your feet out away from the chair until you are in a full pushup position. Slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself down to the chair and then slowly push back up. When you reach the top and your arms are straight, push further until your upper back arches slightly (this is the Plus part). Then let your back sink back down into your shoulder blades. This is one repetition. Try to perform 10-15 repetitions.

2.Doorway Rows – stand in a doorway, opposite from the way the door opens. Step across the threshold so that the back of your heels are lined up with the threshold. Turn your forearms so that your palms are facing outward and your thumbs are pointing downward and grasp the door jam on either side. Slowly lower yourself backward until your arms are straight and then slowly pull yourself back up to standing as you pinch your shoulder blades together. This is 1 repetition. Perform 20-25 repetitions.

3.Shoulder External Rotator Strengthening – using an exercise resistance band, tie a small loop in one end of the band and anchor it to an immovable object about waist level high. I usually recommend placing the loop around a doorknob on the side the door opens and then closing the door so that when you pull on the band you are pulling it toward the closed position. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees and move your body away from the door so that your unaffected side is facing the door and the band is tight with your arm rotated across your stomach. Next, roll up a towel and place it between your elbow and ribs and this is the start position. Keeping your elbow bent, rotate your arm outward so that you are stretching the band. Pull as far as you can comfortably and then slowly let the band pull your hand back across your stomach. Repeat for 15 repetitions, relax for 30-60 seconds, repeat for 3 sets.

4.Shoulder Internal Rotation Stretch – lie on the same side that you are having trouble/pain on. Bring your arm out in front of you, just below shoulder level and bend your elbow so that your hand is pointing up toward the ceiling. Keeping your elbow bent at 900, grab your wrist with your ‘good’ hand and push it downward toward the floor until you feel a good stretch in your shoulder. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds and relax. Repeat stretch 5 times.

5.Alternating Diagonal Abdominal Crunches – lie on your back with your knees bent up and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest and curl your shoulders up off the floor as you angle your left elbow toward your right knee. Slowly return back down to the floor and then curl back up, angling your right elbow toward your left knee and slowly lower back down. That is 1 repetition. Complete 15-20 repetitions.

Keeping your upper body in shape and ‘ready to go’ will help you stay active and will improve your performance for many years to come. The exercises above are general and may not help rehabilitate specific injuries once you have developed them. Rather, these are meant more for preparing your body and preventing injuries.

Author Bio: Mike Gaudette is a Sportsmedicine Physical Therapist and founder of the myPTpro website, helping people prevent and rehabilitate from injuries. Visit us at http://www.myPTpro.com.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy, Upper Body, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist, Hand, Throwing, Swinging, Exer