For priming the shoulders before a heavier workout, scaled in three tiers by how much prep you need. Each level moves from mobility like shoulder circles, overhead reaches, and around-the-worlds into activation with scapular work, reverse flies, Y-pulls, and external rotation. It leaves the shoulder mobile, switched on, and ready to load hard.
Warm up fast. Shoulder circles, overhead reaches, and the ATY combo raise blood flow and open range quickly. A fast warm-up is enough to prep the shoulder when time is tight before a session.
Universal mobility exercise for comprehensive shoulder movement. Adaptable to all programs and populations.
Promotes overhead mobility and activation. Excellent for swimming and overhead mobility restoration.
Comprehensive scapular activation exercise combining three fundamental shoulder patterns. Excellent for addressing scapular dyskinesis and promoting balanced shoulder function. Ideal for warm-up, activation, and corrective exercise applications across multiple programs.
Run the standard warm-up. Scapular activation, reverse flies, and Y-pulls add stabilizer activation so the shoulder is switched on, not just loose. This level readies the joint for real loading.
General scapular activation for multiple programs. Excellent for rehab and postural training.
Fundamental posterior chain exercise. Excellent for postural correction and activation across all programs.
Activates lower trap and serratus anterior. Critical for scapular upward rotation and overhead function.
Do the full prep. A and Y pulls, external rotation, and around-the-worlds prime pull, rotation, and range for the heaviest sessions. This tier leaves nothing untouched before you load up.
Isolated scapular retraction at 45 degree arm angle. Targets mid-trapezius and rhomboids for postural correction. Excellent for addressing rounded shoulder posture and upper crossed syndrome. Can be used in isolation or as part of combination sequences.
Lower trapezius dominant exercise crucial for scapular upward rotation and depression. Addresses scapular dyskinesis and prepares shoulders for overhead function. Essential for overhead athletes, swimmers, and anyone with shoulder impingement concerns.
Comprehensive external rotation training at multiple angles. Excellent for endurance and rotator cuff health.
Targeted shoulder mobility and stabilization exercise. Focuses heavily on the lateral and posterior deltoids, rotator cuff, and scapular control along the lateral plane of the body. Excellent for building shoulder endurance, improving overhead range of motion, and correcting forward-rolling shoulder posture.
Cloth wrapped bands with graduated resistance and a door anchor for high, mid, and low setups. Everything this program calls for, in one kit.
We call for an effort level instead of a specific weight, because the right resistance depends on you, the movement, and where you are in your training. For the sets and reps listed on each exercise, pick the resistance that makes the last few reps feel like the level shown.
You finish the set with several clean reps still in the tank. The work stays easy and fully controlled from the first rep to the last.
You could manage a few more reps at the end, but not many. The final reps take real effort while your form holds.
You reach the last prescribed rep with little or nothing left. Completing every rep with good form is genuinely hard.
These are starting points, not rules. Everyone is built differently, so adjust to fit you: size down if your form breaks before the final rep or a movement aggravates a symptom, and only size up once every rep feels smooth and pain free. When you are unsure, choose the lighter option.
