The Scapular Push-Up Exercise is a great way to build stabilising strength and mobility in your shoulder blades, while developing your core stability, thus enabling more efficient and consistent movement in your golf swing and helping to prevent injury.
The Scapular Push-Up Exercise forms part of the Golf Injury Prevention series of innovative and dynamic exercises that will help to protect you from pain and injury by building strength and stability around your most vulnerable areas, while improving mobility, balance and joint function.
Figure 1. Scapular Push-Up Exercise Video.
Steps
- Start in a prone position, with your elbows close to your sides, the palms of your hands flat on the floor underneath your shoulders, and your toes on the ground.
- Press up until your arms are straight, keeping your legs and back straight, forming a straight line from your ears to your ankles. This is the starting position.
- Slowly push your shoulder blades as far apart as possible by lifting your upper back towards the ceiling.
- Keep your arms straight as you slowly lower your back about 1 inch (2.5cm) by bringing your shoulder blades together.
- Slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
The movement is initiated entirely by your shoulder blades, not your spine.
Keep your torso solid and your back straight – don’t let your lower back sag.
Keep your head in line with your torso, and your abdominal muscles engaged to stabilise your spine.
You should feel it working your shoulders and upper back.
Variation
For an easier version of this exercise, try the Scapular Push-Up (Kneeling) Exercise.
To really focus on developing your muscle control and mobility, try the Scapular Push-Up (1 Arm, Kneeling) Exercise.
There are a number of other shoulder blade mobility and stability exercises in the Golf Loopy Train like a Champion System, you can see them all by clicking here.
If you have any questions or comments about this or other articles on Golf Loopy, please send us an email.
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There are a number of other golf-specific injury prevention exercises in the Golf Loopy Train like a Champion System.
The Golf Loopy Perfect Warm Up, an exercise routine that has been scientifically designed to prepare your mind and body for playing golf to the best of your ability in just 7 minutes.
Introduction to the Swing like a Champion System.
Golf Anatomy and Kinesiology, a collection of articles describing the roles of the muscles involved in the golf swing.
