Exercise of the Week: Scapular Protraction-Retraction

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Specificity: Shoulder stability and strength

Goal: Injury prevention

Equipment: None

This week we'll continue our series on shoulder stability with Scapular Protraction-Retraction. I apologize if the name of this movement brings back haunting memories of high school geometry. The Scapular protraction-retraction movement is designed to promote stability and strength in the shoulder joint. The shoulder joint provides the greatest range of motion of any joint in the human body, but you already knew that from my last few posts. Right?

Anatomy of the shoulder and rotator cuff can be seen here:

Maintaining a healthy shoulder is crucial to success and longevity in volleyball as the shoulder is involved in all the major skills - serving, setting, digging, blocking and hitting. Research shows that weakness and fatigue of scapular-stabilizing muscles (trapezius, rhomboids, serratus anterior) can lead to pain and a decrease in rotator cuff strength. Our exercise this week will promote proper functioning of the scapula.

Start position: Assume a push-up position with hands directly under shoulders and back flat.

Keeping arms straight, retract shoulder blades by squeezing them together as if you were squeezing a tennis ball between them.

Do not go all the way down as you would with a regular push up. This is a rather subtle movement, designed to isolate and strengthen the scapula stabilizers. You will only move a matter of 1-3 inches for this exercise.

Complete the movement by protracting shoulder blades (spread them apart). Now that was easy wasn't it?

Begin with 10-20 repetitions and work up to 50.

To stabilize your scapula and reduce the strain in your neck and upper shoulders incorporate this movement into your routine 1-2 times per week.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for more beach volleyball conditioning exercises.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA, CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Pictures from crossfitinvictus.com fitnessspotlight.com

Exercise of the Week: The Sleeper Stretch

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Specificity: Shoulder stability and mobility

Goal: Injury prevention

Equipment: None

This week we'll continue our series on shoulder stability with the Sleeper stretch. No, this does not mean lying down on the couch and dozing off after a long day of volleyball. The Sleeper stretch is a static stretch designed to promote mobility in the shoulder joint.

The shoulder joint provides the greatest range of motion of any joint in the human body. Maintaining a healthy shoulder is crucial to success and longevity in volleyball as the shoulder is involved in all the major skills - serving, setting, digging, blocking and hitting.

The repetitive actions of serving and hitting in beach volleyball can cause the posterior capsule of the shoulder to tighten over time causing a loss of internal rotation. This loss in mobility can add stress to the musculature of the shoulder joint, increasing our risk of injury.

Any program designed to promote the health and longevity of the shoulder should include a balance of strengthening and stretching exercises. For many of my clients the value of stretching is often overlooked. I don't call stretching the flossing of the exercise world for nothing. It might not always be fun but it's imperative to keeping yourself injury free. Chronically shortened muscles lead to stress, decreased performance, pain and injury. So, if it's been a while since you've "flossed" your shoulders, try this weeks exercise.

The anatomy of the shoulder and rotator cuff can be seen here:

Start position: Lie on your left side forming a straight line with your body. Your shoulders should be stacked directly on top of one another. You may want to use a foam roller or pillow to support your head. Use your left arm as a kickstand by placing your upper left arm on the floor with your fingers pointing to the ceiling. You should have a 90-degree angle with your left arm.



Use your right hand to apply gentle pressure on your left forearm, pushing it towards the floor, without allowing your upper arm to rise.

This is a relatively subtle stretch. Don't expect to be able to place your hand on the floor. Getting to 45-degrees would be...a stretch (ha, ha!) for most athletes.

Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times and switch sides.

Stretching is best performed at the end of a workout after you are thoroughly warmed-up. Include the Sleeper stretch 2-3 times per week as part of your post play routine and before that well deserved nap. Zzzzzzz...........

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for more beach volleyball conditioning exercises.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA, CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Exercise picture from www.menshealth.com

Exercise of the Week: Lat Stretch

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Goal: Improved performance and injury prevention

Muscles used: Latissimus Dorsi, Teres Major

Equipment: Physioball, chair or post

Our focus this week is enhancing the effectiveness of our spike by increasing the range of motion in our latissimus dorsi (lats). The lats are the widest and most powerful muscle of the back. The anatomy of the lats can be seen here:


One of the keys to an effective spike is reaching full extension of the hitting arm to achieve a high point of contact.


Who better to demonstrate perfect hitting technique than Misty May-Treanor?

Due to it's insertion on the humerus (upper arm bone) if the lattisimus dorsi muscle is tight or shortened this will impede our ability to reach up for that buttery set. Umm...buttery sets.

So to ensure that you can reach up and get yours try out this stretch:


Start position - begin by kneeling on the floor, with the physio-ball directly in front of you and hands on top of the ball.

Roll the ball forward by extending the arms and allowing your hips to shift backwards.

Continue to extend the arms forward and your hips backwards until a stretch is felt in the upper back, lats, or shoulders.

Gaze down toward the floor to keep your cervical spine neutral.

Hold this position for 15- 30 seconds. Repeat 1-2 times.

You can also perform this stretch with a partner by holding onto their forearms, slowly bending your knees and leaning back.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for more beach volleyball conditioning exercises.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA, CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Pictures from stacktv.com, pgatour.com, uoregon.edu

Exercise of the Week: Y,T,W,L's

Level: Beginner to Advanced

Specificity: Shoulder stability

Goal: Injury prevention

Equipment: Physioball

This week we'll continue our series on shoulder stability with Y,T,W,L's. Again, our exercise this week is Y,T,W,L's not YMCA--sorry Village People fanatics.

The shoulder joint provides the greatest range of motion of any joint in the human body. Maintaining a healthy shoulder is crucial to success and longevity in volleyball as the shoulder is involved in all the major skills - serving, setting, digging, blocking and hitting. However, frequent use of a joint that provides such a wide range of motion can increase our risk for injury.

Our focus this week is providing a stable base for the shoulder, specifically the rotator cuff, by strengthening the scapulothoracic joint (shoulder blade, rib cage). The anatomy of the scapulothoracic joint can be seen here:

Y,T,W, and L refer to the position of the arms during each movement of this series. Although it may look simple this series is very challenging and beneficial. The start position for each movement is shown here:


Y: Lie with stomach on physioball with knees against ball. With arms relaxed in front of the ball begin by raising arms in front of you at a 45-degree angle so the body and arms form a Y. Aim for long arms and point your thumbs up, think Arthur Fonzarelli. Hey...Perform 8 repetitions and then move on to the T.


T: Lie with stomach on physioball with knees against ball. With arms relaxed in front of the ball begin by raising the arms directly to the side to form, you guessed it, a T with the body and arms. Point you thumbs up as you did in the Y. As you lift your arms retract, or draw your shoulder blades (scapula) together. Perform 8 repetitions and then move on to the W.

W: Lie with stomach on physioball with knees against ball. With arms relaxed in front of the ball bend your arms at the elbow, retract your scapula, rotate your hands back with your thumbs down, pinky fingers up while keeping your elbows tight to your ribs, forming a W. Perform 8 repetitions and then move on to the L.

L: Almost there! Lie with stomach on physioball with knees against ball. With arms relaxed in front of the ball, lift your elbows toward the ceiling and bend your arms so the upper arms are parallel to the floor. You should have a 90-degree angle at your elbows. Retract your scapula and externally rotate your arms until the backs of hands face the ceiling. Perform 8 repetitions and then relax, you deserve it!

Sets/Reps: Begin with 32 total reps (8 for each exercise) with no additional weight. These movements are much harder than they look. After 4 weeks, add 2 repetitions each week until you can complete 16 reps per exercise. At this time, if you have perfected your technique, you can consider trying this series with 1-2 pound dumbbells for 8 reps per movement.

Perform this series once or twice per week for best results.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for part IV of our series on shoulder stabilization for injury prevention.

See you on the beach!

Eric Hand, MA, CSCS

Exercise Physiologist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Fast Twitch Fitness

"We're all athletes. Some of us are just farther along in our training."

Pictures from www.stacktv.com and www.shoulderdoc.co.uk