Rotate Those Cuffs! 5 Power Band Exercises To Strengthen Your Rotator Cuffs

Your shoulders are precious! They love it when you take care of them!

Shoulder injuries can be painful and feel like they last forever. Your rotator cuffs, in particular, need some TLC. Whether you are recovering from a shoulder injury or hoping to avoid one, our Power Bands are an incredible tool for getting those joints in the healthiest condition possible!

A Rotator What?

If you aren’t familiar with what/where your Rotator Cuffs are, let’s talk about it!

The rotator cuff is a made of 4 muscles where your arm bone meets your shoulder blade. It keeps your shoulder together while allowing it to move.

It is a very important set of muscles, and the most common injuries associated with it are impingements and tears. If you have an impingement, that means your muscles are swelling and cramping the space between the arm and shoulder, which causes pinching (ouch). A tear means one of the rotator cuff muscles or tendons tear.

Plus, shoulder injuries take a loooooong time to heal, so keeping them from happening in the first place is awesome; or doing some slow and consistent rehab post-injury can do wonders for you!

Strengthen It!

How do we avoid impingements and tears? By watching those repetitive overhead movements, as those can wear down your rotator cuff muscles. But also, strengthen them!

Let’s go through 5 moves you can do with your Synergee Power Bands to get those shoulders feeling good! All of these moves require you to anchor your Power Band to a doorframe, a gym rig, or somewhere else that will hold it in place at about-hip height.

1) Shoulder External Rotation

Begin by standing with your elbow bent at 90 degrees with a rolled towel under your arm. Hold the resistance band in your hand and this time, the anchor point will be on the side closest from your bent arm.

Rotate your arm towards your body.

Again, keep your hips and shoulders facing forward.

2) Shoulder Internal Rotation

Begin by standing with your elbow bent at 90 degrees with a rolled towel under your arm. Hold the resistance band in your hand and the anchor point will be on the side furthest from your bent arm.

Rotate your arm away from your body.

Keep your hips and shoulders facing forward throughout.

3) Single Arm Shoulder Extension

Stand facing the anchor point, holding the end of the resistance band with your arm in front of your body. Pull your arm down to your side, pulling down on the resistance band.

Make sure you maintain good posture and have a straight elbow throughout.

4) Standing Shoulder Row

This Power Band move requires you to anchor your band at the middle so you can hold one end in each hand. Stand upright, hold each end of the bands facing the anchor and your hands facing each other.

Pull your arms back, tuck your elbows to your sides and pinch your shoulder blades together as your arms travel back. Your hands will approach your body at about chest height.

5) Standing Single Arm Shoulder Flexion

Stand facing away from the anchor point, holding one end of the Power Band in your hand with your arm at your side.

Leading with your thumb, push against the resistance band to lift your arm forward and up. Lift your arm straight in front of your body until your hand is in line with your shoulder.

Keep your elbow straight and do not shrug your shoulder during the exercise.

How Often Should I Do This?

If you are recovering from an injury, chat with a physiotherapist about what exercises you should do and how often. But if you are just wanting to strengthen your rotator cuff, perform 3 sets of 10 reps of each movement. Hold at the top of each rep for 5 seconds. And perform these 5 times daily!

There you go athletes! Dayum, your shoulders are looking fine – and they’re about to look finer with these Power Band moves!