No matter how much weight you’re lifting, you’re going to need strong, stable shoulders to help support the load.
If you struggle with your shoulders — or if you just want to know some more about them — it pays to see how everything’s connected. Read on to learn more about the surprisingly complex system that supports our arms, then use the 5 move warmup set to keep your shoulders healthy and strong.
Degrees of Freedom
From the outside, the shoulder looks like a simple joint —but it’s actually one of the most complicated joints in the body.
The glenohumeral joint (where the arm attaches to the axial skeleton, or the central part of your body) is a shallow ball and socket joint with more degrees of freedom (the ability to move in multiple planes of movement) than most joints.
Due to all that mobility and a shallow physical connection to the scapula, it relies heavily on multiple other structures —including muscles — to stabilize any arm movement. [Full Article]