Many advanced pilates exercises require very good to excellent shoulder stabilty. How can you improve your shoulder stability so that you can progress to more and more difficult exercises in your practice? One important element to good shoulder stability is strengthening the anterior serratus muscles. In this blog, I have demonstrated 5 different progressions in a short-levered (performed on the elbows) pike to plank exercise and how they relate to increasing shoulder stability, specifically by strengthening the anterior serratus muscles.
Here is a basic diagram of the Serratus Anterior muscles: they are located deep beneath the scapula and pectoral muscles, and play an important role in movement of the scapula (shoulder blades).
Weakness of the serratus anterior muscles can result in neck pain, shoulder and/or back pain, rotator cuff issues and even circulation issues in the arm. Visually, weakness may be seen as what many call "winging" of the scapula during plank-like exercises.
Benefits of strengthening the serratus anterior: improved posture, increased shoulder mobility, decreased neck and shoulder pain, improved weight lifting, and so on.....
Please note!! There are so many layers to good shoulder mechanics and I am just barely touching on the subject here. I merely wanted to highlight the benefits of strengthening this particular muscle as it pertains to this pilates exercise.
Also, there are many exercises out there to strengthen the serratus anterior. These are just a few that I have chosen.
Whether you are working on your own practice or working with a client, it is important to know what is appropriate when choosing exercises. If you know that you or your client struggle to keep the shoulder blades in a neutral position during a plank or other weight bearing exercises, then you'll want master exercises 1 thru 3 listed below first . Never proceed to these advanced exercises before you or your client are ready for them!
Okay, so let's get to it! Here is the advanced exercise: Pike to plank on the reformer (I've added the leg extension but it can be done without). I'm showing this first so that you can see similarities in how I've broken it down in exercises 1 thru 5.
What can you do to get yourself there?? Here are some progressions listed in order from beginner to advanced:
1. With a foam roller placed horizontally on the wall in front of you, bend your arms in a 90 degree angle in front of you and place on the roller. Arms should be lined up so that shoulder, elbow and wrist are lined up in a straight line. Step backwards slightly (so that you are at an angle to the wall - like a standing plank position). With your forearms, roll the foam roller up and down the wall trying not let your elbow slide out of line with your shoulders and wrists. Engage your abs as you would in a plank (don't let your back arch). This exercise works protraction and "wrapping" of the scapula around the rib cage (strengthening the serratus anterior muscles).
2. This next exercise is a great progression from the foam roller exercise because we are taking away the stability of the wall. Using the arm springs from your Trapeze Tower, but with the leg spring straps/loops, stand with your back to the tower and place the straps around both arms just above the elbow joint. With your feet hip distance apart, lean forward slightly so that you are again at an angle in a standing plank position. Engage your abdominals and don't let your back arch. With your hands clasped together and elbows in line with the shoulders, move the elbows up and down (same as you did previously with the foam roller). The instability of the springs increases the challenge for the both the core muscles and the shoulders.
3. The next progression would be a basic forward plank on the elbows. Hold for time, starting at 10 seconds and progressing to 30-60 seconds. I don't have a short clip for this one but I do have this previous blog post on proper plank form and variations HERE.
4. Finally, let's take it to the Reformer! This is essentially the same exercise but we've added a moving surface. Hold your plank position by engaging your abdominals and glutes, elbows in line with shoulders, protract your shoulder blades just slightly (push the chest away from the carriage), push the carriage away from you and then back to where you started with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders (be careful not to pull the carriage back too much to where your elbows are gliding below shoulder level). Perform 4-6 reps and progress to 10-15 reps as your strength increases.
**Modifications: 1)You can lower the foot bar or depending on your reformer, you can use the jumpboard-platform extender set-up and wedge your feet in between them. I used 1 heavy spring for this exercise. 2) Limit your range of motion - only push the carriage out 1 inch and then back. Once your spine and shoulders are stable, you can increase your range of motion (push the carriage out 2 inches, 3 inches, etc).
5. Okay, we are into the advanced progressions. If you are doing this for yourself, you may want to recruit a spotter. If you are working with a client, absolutely - you need to spot your client! Absolutely, you need to be sure this exercise is appropriate before even attempting with a client.
In this next exercise, I used my stability chair to place my feet on, but you could certainly just put your feet up against a wall. With a mat placed on the floor for your elbows, position your elbows about shoulder distance apart and clasp your hands together. Take one foot and place it up on the edge of your chair. Once you feel stable go ahead and bring the other one up to meet it. Align yourself so that your legs and torso are in a 90 degree angle. Your first drill could be simply to hold this position for 20-30 seconds. This alone is plenty difficult, requiring good core strength and shoulder stability. The next step would be to add the leg extension. Extend the leg by engaging the glute (not by arching the back). You can do a few reps on one leg and then switch as I did in this video, or you can alternate.
**NOTE: Exercise 5 is, in my opinion, equally as difficult as Exercise 6. However, I placed it before exercise 6 because it does not have any moving parts (ie. the carriage on a reformer).
6. The final progression is pike to plank on the reformer. Even though your elbows do not push forward in this exercise, the carriage is moving forward and back so you are still working that same shoulder movement. Start in your plank position (abs and glutes engaged, slightly protract your shoulders, elbows directly below shoulder blades, hands wrapped around the shoulder blocks). Move into your pike by pulling your abdominals up and in to lift the hips up towards the ceiling, drawing the carriage closer to the foot bar. It is so important that you initiate this movement WITH YOUR ABDOMINALS! Again, start with just a few reps and progress to more as you feel stronger and more confident. Adding the leg extension would be the final, more advanced version. You extend the leg by engaging the glute.
**See the first video again for the demo** I used 1 heavy spring here.