Prone Scapular Snow Angels
This is a great mobility and strength exercise for the posterior muscles of the shoulder girdle, specifically the mid/lower trapezius and rhomboids.
Lay prone on a mat, retract the chin, squeeze the glutes and engage the core to stabilize the spine. With your arms at your sides and palms facing down, retract the shoulder blades to lift the arms off the ground. Next, slowly abduct the shoulder attempting to keep your arms as far off the mat as possible. As the arms reach 90 degrees of abduction begin to rotate the palms into a neutral position. As you abducted the arms to the “overhead” position maintain scapula depression to keep the arms raised above the mat – do NOT shrug the shoulders.
Repeat the movement 4-5 times prior to training. This movement is especially useful for athletes with poor overhead ROM or upper cross syndrome, such as bodybuilding and other sports where much of the action takes place in front of the body.
Jason Cholewa - Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Coastal Carolina University 