Suffering from a monster chest that rounds your upper back causing symptoms of “Scapular Winging”? Or perhaps you are just perpetually in a state of poor posture and not hitting the right exercises to bring your shoulder blades back in check. A “Winged Scapula”, marked by the appearance of the inner border of the scapula flaring out off the back (like an Angel’s wings), can occur for a variety of reasons and cause pain, discomfort and lack of range of motion for the entire upper body. It is attributed mainly to having weak Serratus Anterior and Lower Trapezius muscles, preventing it from staying tight and close to the upper back. While not necessarily the cause, often overworking your pecs and upper traps can add to the problem, if you are not spending enough time working the muscles that act on the scapula itself. It should be noted however, if you have serious pain, or loss of function in the upper back and shoulder area, go see your doc first to make sure your self-diagnosis is correct. – do we need to say this?
Adjust Your Chest Day
First, for all pec exercises like the dumbbell bench press and pec flye, exaggerate the end range of motion by rounding your upper back coming off the bench and further extending your arms through your shoulders. Do the opposite for upper back (lat pulldowns and rows) and trap exercises (shrugs) by retracting (pulling your scapula in) your shoulder blades before and during the movement. These adjustments will help balance the scapular muscles. Additionally, add the following exercises to your routine and make sure to emphasize the scapular motion. Here are six moves that will get you on the right track.
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Scapular Pushup
In the pushup position, simply retract and protract your scapula for reps keeping your torso in a straight line for each repetition. Do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
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Side Lateral Raise
Keep your thumbs up and pull your shoulders back, drop your scapula and take it slow. Do 3-4 sets for 10-12 reps.
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One-Arm Lat Pulldown
With elbows flared out, palms facing in, pull down and outward while externally rotating your arm. Do 2 sets on each side for 12 reps.
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Rear Dumbbell Flye
Using either DBs or reversing a Pec Fly machine, keep your elbows up and flared out, squeezing at the fully retracted position and rounding your back at the fully extended position. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
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Rope Pulldown
Using a rope on the Lat Pulldown machine, lean back slightly, depress your scapula, drop your elbows, and pull the rope to your sternum. Return back to a fully extended arm position with your upper back rounded. Do 4 sets of 10 controlled reps.
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Single Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
Lean forward at 45 degrees hyperextending your shoulders while moving your arms overhead straight out (to form a straight line from your hands to hips), then pull all the way through past your waist. Do 4 sets of 12 reps.
Suffering from a monster chest that rounds your upper back causing symptoms of “Scapular Winging”? Or perhaps you are just perpetually in a state of poor posture and not hitting the right exercises to bring your shoulder blades back in check. A “Winged Scapula”, marked by the appearance of the inner border of the scapula flaring out off the back (like an Angel’s wings), can occur for a variety of reasons and cause pain, discomfort and lack of range of motion for the entire upper body. It is attributed mainly to having weak Serratus Anterior and Lower Trapezius muscles, preventing it from staying tight and close to the upper back. While not necessarily the cause, often overworking your pecs and upper traps can add to the problem, if you are not spending enough time working the muscles that act on the scapula itself. It should be noted however, if you have serious pain, or loss of function in the upper back and shoulder area, go see your doc first to make sure your self-diagnosis is correct. – do we need to say this?
Adjust Your Chest Day
First, for all pec exercises like the dumbbell bench press and pec flye, exaggerate the end range of motion by rounding your upper back coming off the bench and further extending your arms through your shoulders. Do the opposite for upper back (lat pulldowns and rows) and trap exercises (shrugs) by retracting (pulling your scapula in) your shoulder blades before and during the movement. These adjustments will help balance the scapular muscles. Additionally, add the following exercises to your routine and make sure to emphasize the scapular motion. Here are six moves that will get you on the right track.
Scapular Pushup
In the pushup position, simply retract and protract your scapula for reps keeping your torso in a straight line for each repetition. Do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Side Lateral Raise
Keep your thumbs up and pull your shoulders back, drop your scapula and take it slow. Do 3-4 sets for 10-12 reps.
One-Arm Lat Pulldown
With elbows flared out, palms facing in, pull down and outward while externally rotating your arm. Do 2 sets on each side for 12 reps.
Rear Dumbbell Flye
Using either DBs or reversing a Pec Fly machine, keep your elbows up and flared out, squeezing at the fully retracted position and rounding your back at the fully extended position. Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
Rope Pulldown
Using a rope on the Lat Pulldown machine, lean back slightly, depress your scapula, drop your elbows, and pull the rope to your sternum. Return back to a fully extended arm position with your upper back rounded. Do 4 sets of 10 controlled reps.
Single Straight-Arm Cable Pulldown
Lean forward at 45 degrees hyperextending your shoulders while moving your arms overhead straight out (to form a straight line from your hands to hips), then pull all the way through past your waist. Do 4 sets of 12 reps.
