Shoulder-Dislocates Exercise: How to, Benefits, Tips, Modifications

The shoulder-dislocates exercise might sound like a painful party trick, but it's actually an expert-approved mobility drill — one that can help open the shoulders, improve exercise form, and support joint health. (Despite its name, this exercise doesn't dislocate your shoulder. It just looks like it does.)

Also called the shoulder-dislocation exercise, this shoulder mobility exercise involves lifting a PVC pipe, dowel, or resistance band overhead and behind your body with straight arms. It targets your rotator cuff muscles (a group of muscles that surround the ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder), while also engaging the deltoids (large muscles that cover the shoulder joint).

Learn how to perform the shoulder dislocates with proper form, ways to make the exercise easier or harder, and what benefits to expect.

How to Perform the Shoulder-Dislocates Exercise With Perfect Form

This mobility exercise is great for anyone without a shoulder injury who wants to loosen up their shoulders before a workout and improve their shoulder mobility. If you have a previous shoulder dislocation or injury, you still might be able to do this mobility move — just make sure to get the green light from your physical therapist.

Note that there's no need to force it if your shoulders aren't able to move past a certain point without pain. Hold the stretch at the end of your range of motion or do arm circles instead to warm up your shoulders.

Here, Brandon Lirio, an International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) certified personal trainer and the director of Battleground Fitness, outlines the steps to performing the shoulder dislocates exercise with proper form.

Shoulder Dislocates

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward. Hold a broomstick or PVC pipe in front of your thighs with your hands about a foot wider than hip-width apart.
2. Squeeze your butt and brace your core throughout the movement to prevent bending your lower spine.
3. Keeping your arms straight and chest proud, lift the stick in an arc in front of your body and above your head, then rotate the stick behind you.
4. If the bar or your elbows start to bend, stop the movement at your end range and hold the stretch, then return to the starting position.
5. If you can move the bar and your arms without bending, continue rotating the stick all the way around until it touches your butt or the backs of your thighs (depending on the length of your arms and the width of your grip on the stick).
6. With straight arms, pull the stick back up overhead and in front of you, returning to the starting position.

Benefits of the Shoulder-Dislocates Exercise

Incorporating the shoulder-dislocates exercise into your mobility routine may improve shoulder health by loosening fascia, a thin connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, organ, bone, and nerve fiber.

Shoulder-dislocates also prepare your shoulders for exercise by activating all the tiny muscles surrounding your shoulder joint.

"It can open the shoulder joint and allow for a greater range of motion by stretching the inside of your rotator cuff, your labrum [the thick piece of tissue that holds the ball of the shoulder joint in the socket] and the back shoulder muscles," Lirio says.

For instance, overhead presses, while great for building shoulder strength, are one of the most commonly botched exercises, because few people have the shoulder mobility necessary to do them. But if you warm up your full shoulder range of motion before your lifts, you'll be better able to get your arms overhead without throwing your spine out of whack.

Try this exercise prior to any upper-body movements, as well as exercises like back squats and dead lifts that require shoulder mobility and stability.

How to Make Shoulder-Dislocates Easier

Doing the shoulder dislocation exercise with a band is a great option if you don't have a PVC pipe or if you want something with some "give." Because the band can stretch, it's a little bit easier to move through a full range of motion without bending your arms.

If you have trouble getting the bar over your head, supine shoulder dislocates can be a safe way to work on your range of motion with the help of gravity. Just be sure to go slow and keep your core tight so your back doesn’t arch.

Resistance-Band Shoulder Dislocates

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward. Hold a resistance band in front of your thighs with an overhand grip, hands about a foot wider than hip-width.
2. Squeeze your butt and brace your core throughout the entire movement to avoid bending your lower back.
3. Keeping your arms straight and chest proud, lift the band in an arc in front of your body and above your head, then rotate the band behind you.
4. If your elbows start to bend, stop the movement at your end range and hold the stretch before returning to the starting position.
5. If you can continue to move the band and your arms without bending, continue rotating the band all the way around until it touches your butt or the back of your thighs (depending on the length of your arms and the width of your grip on the band).
6. Keeping your arms straight, pull the band back up over your head and in front of you, returning to the starting position.

Supine Shoulder Dislocates

1. Lie face-up on a bench with your knees bent and feet on the bench. (You can also do this with your feet on the floor, but placing your feet on the bench makes it harder to arch your lower back.)
2. Hold a PVC pipe over your chest with your hands a little wider than shoulder-width. Brace your core.
3. Keeping your arms straight, lift the stick in an arc in front of your body and above your head, then rotate the stick behind you.
4. If the stick or your elbows start to bend, stop the movement at your end range and hold to feel the stretch.
5. Bring the stick back to the starting position and repeat.

How to Make Shoulder-Dislocates Harder

If traditional shoulder dislocates don’t give you any issues and you’re ready to challenge your mobility a bit further, work on bringing your hands closer together. The narrower your grip, the harder this exercise becomes. Stop at your end range if your elbows or the stick starts to bend.

Shoulder-Dislocates With Narrow Grip

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes facing forward. Hold a broomstick, PVC pipe, or other bendable stick in front of your thighs with an overhand grip, hands about 6 inches wider than hip-width.
2. Squeeze your butt and brace your core throughout the movement to keep your lower back from bending.
3. Keeping your arms straight and chest proud, lift the stick in an arc in front of your body and above your head, then rotate the stick behind you.
4. If the bar or your elbows start to bend, stop the movement at your end range and hold the stretch before returning to the starting position.
5. If you can continue to move the bar and your arms without bending, continue rotating the stick all the way around until it touches your butt or the backs of your thighs (depending on the length of your arms and the width of your grip on the stick).
6. Keeping your arms straight, pull the stick back up over your head and in front of you, returning to the starting position.

3 Tips for More Effective Shoulder-Dislocates

Lirio offers these tips for maximizing the benefits of the shoulder dislocates exercise.

1. Keep your chest up, but not out. Standing with your chest proud helps keep your shoulder blades back and down, but be careful not to puff out your pecs too much as it can cause your lower back to bend. Make sure to also brace your core and squeeze your glutes throughout the exercise so that the movement stays in your shoulders and not in your back.
2. Use a wide grip. Place your hands about a foot wider than hip-width on the dowel. A wider grip isolates your shoulders and allows you to move the dowel in a full arc without bending your arms or the bar. If the bar (or your elbows) is bending, your arms are basically trying to widen so that your shoulder can continue the movement, Lirio says. If this happens, widen your grip even more or hold the stretch at the point where the bar or your elbows start to bend. As you make this exercise a routine, your shoulder mobility will improve, and eventually, you'll be able to bring your arms farther down behind your body. You might even be able to make your grip on the stick narrower.
3. Don’t force it. Can't keep your arms straight or get the dowel all the way behind you? That's okay. Trying to push your joint through an uncomfortable range of motion puts you at a significant risk of injury. During the exercise, move only as far as actually feels good. Yes, this is a challenging mobility drill. But it should never be a painful one.

The Takeaway

• The shoulder-dislocates exercise involves lifting a PVC pipe, dowel, or resistance band overhead and behind your body with straight arms.
• Shoulder-dislocates improve shoulder health by moving the shoulder joint, muscles, and connective tissues through a full range of motion. This helps lubricate joints and prepare the shoulders for movement.
• Whichever shoulder-dislocates variation you do, be sure to work within your current range of motion; don’t try to push further than you can comfortably move the dowel with straight arms.
• This mobility exercise is appropriate for anyone without a shoulder injury who’s looking to improve their shoulder mobility. If you have a previous shoulder dislocation or injury, be sure to check with your physical therapist before performing shoulder-dislocates.