Training guide
Getting your arm overhead takes the shoulder joint, the shoulder blade turning on your ribs, and an upper back that can straighten. Most adults without shoulder pain raise the arm about 160 degrees, short of the textbook 180, and range falls with age. Stretching the direction you lack, plus strength through the whole range, improves it over weeks.
This guide covers overhead reach and rotation, the shoulder blades and upper back, a simple wall check, what works and how much, shoulder mobility for lifting, swimming and throwing, the moves with doses, and when stiffness or pain is a frozen shoulder or another problem for our shoulder pain guides.
The shoulder joint, the shoulder blade and the upper back all play a part. Sitting slumped cut arm raising by about 15 to 24 degrees in the moment against sitting tall, so our thoracic mobility guide is half of this one.
In 2,404 adults without shoulder pain, raising the arm forward averaged about 160 degrees, not 180, and fell by about 40 degrees from the youngest to the oldest age groups. Turning the arm out falls with age too.
Stand with your back to a wall and slide your arms up it. If they reach the wall overhead without your lower back lifting off, you have the range to press overhead, as our overhead press guide says.
The cross-body stretch, 5 holds of 30 seconds once a day, gained about 20 degrees of inward turning in 4 weeks in a small trial, and stretching added about 7 degrees in overhead athletes, according to a review's abstract. Resistance training through a full range improved shoulder range about as much as at other joints.
Pooled studies found no significant link between throwers' lost inward turning and injury, and moderate evidence opposes a link between rotation range and swimmers' shoulder pain. In youth baseball, a whole warm-up of stretching, mobility and balance cut throwing injuries.
Loose shoulders need strength, not stretch. A shoulder stiff in every direction, especially if it's painful, may be a frozen shoulder, which needs its own plan. Shoulder or arm pain with chest pain or breathlessness is a 999 call (911 in the US), not a stretch: see the warning signs.
The shoulder moves further than any other joint because a big ball sits on a small, shallow socket. Raising the arm overhead takes the ball-and-socket joint, the shoulder blade turning upwards on the ribs (roughly 1 degree for every 2 at the joint, as our shoulder joint page explains), the collarbone, and the upper back straightening. A stiff upper back or a shoulder blade that doesn't turn limits reach as much as the joint can.
Raising the arm forward (flexion) and out to the side (abduction), taking it back, reaching across the body, and turning it in and out. Overhead reach and turning the arm in, as when you reach behind your back, are what most people mean by stiff shoulders.
Adults without shoulder pain raise the arm forward about 160 degrees and out to the side about 150, below the textbook 180. Actively, adults turn the arm in about 58 to 63 degrees and out about 83, and about 71 to 72 out over 60. Range falls with age more at the shoulder than at most joints, and women usually have more.
The muscles at the front and back (the lats and chest limit overhead reach, the back of the shoulder limits turning in), how much stretch your nervous system accepts, the joint capsule, how the shoulder blade moves, and the upper back. Throwing arms often turn in less than the other arm, and people who lift often lose a little inward turning.
Sitting slumped cut arm raising in the moment, and taping 120 people into a more upright posture raised their shoulder range. A bigger upper back curve went with less shoulder raise in older adults. But the curve didn't differ between people with and without shoulder pain, so posture limits reach rather than causing pain.
Loose shoulders (hypermobility) reach further but need control. A past dislocation, surgery or breast cancer treatment changes the plan: see who should change it. Big chest and arm muscles can meet before the joint's end range in some positions, such as reaching behind your back; that's normal (our suggestion).
Our suggestion, apart from the wall check, which is our overhead press guide's. These guide your practice; they don't diagnose anything.
Stand with your back against a wall, feet a small step away, and slide your arms up it. If your arms reach the wall overhead without your lower back lifting off it, you have the range to press overhead.
Reach one hand down behind your head and the other up behind your back, and see how close they get. Swap sides and compare. A clear difference between sides tells you where to start.
Lie on your back with your upper arm out to the side and your elbow bent to a right angle, then let the forearm fall forward towards the floor without the front of the shoulder lifting. Compare sides; throwing arms often turn in less.
Most studies are in young athletes; none tested shoulder mobility work for injuries outside overhead sport.
In 2,404 community adults without shoulder pain, forward raise averaged 161.5 degrees in men and 158.5 in women, and fell by about 40 degrees from the youngest to the oldest groups. In 6,635 people, turning out fell about 10 degrees and forward raise about 15 from the youngest to over 60. Women had more range in most movements in 280 people.
Sitting slumped cut sideways raise by 23.6 degrees in 34 adults and arm raising by about 15 degrees in 12 men, against sitting tall. Taping the upper back and shoulder blades into a more upright posture raised shoulder range in 120 people, half with impingement. Across 10 studies there is strong evidence, from single sessions, that range is greater upright, and moderate evidence that the upper back's curve doesn't differ in people with and without shoulder pain.
A bigger upper back curve went with limited shoulder raise in 317 adults aged about 67, and only weakly with less raise across 5 studies. Eight weeks of daily foam roller work raised shoulder flexion from 148.5 to 155.1 degrees in 11 women aged about 64, with no comparison group.
In a small trial, 30 adults without shoulder pain were randomised to the cross-body or the sleeper stretch, 5 holds of 30 seconds once a day for 4 weeks: the cross-body group gained 20 degrees of inward turning against 5.9 in 24 untreated adults who weren't randomised, and the sleeper group's 12.4 wasn't significant. In overhead athletes with lost inward turning, stretching added about 7 degrees across 6 trials, according to the review's abstract. One session of sleeper stretches added 3.1 degrees in 33 baseball players.
Across 55 studies, resistance training improved shoulder range about as much as at other joints, and 4 of 11 head-to-head trials of strength training against stretching measured the shoulder. In one 5-week trial, though, neither full-range lifting nor stretching changed shoulder extension.
A warm-up including slow shoulder circles raised forward raise in one arm of 24 young overhead athletes in a pilot trial. Like any warm-up, the extra range is short-lived.
A loss of 25 degrees or more of inward turning went with 4 times the risk of arm injury in 246 high-school players. In professional pitchers, lost inward turning and total rotation weren't related to shoulder injury, while too little outward turning was (2.2 times the risk), and a forward-raise deficit of 5 degrees or more went with elbow injury. Across 17 studies of 2,195 athletes, the link between lost inward turning and injury wasn't significant.
A warm-up of 5 stretches, 2 mobility and 2 balance exercises cut shoulder and elbow injuries in 237 youth baseball players aged 9 to 11 (1.7 against 3.1 per 1,000 exposures). Daily sleeper stretching went with fewer injuries in 92 high-school pitchers, but they chose their own group. It's the package that was tested, not stretching alone.
Across 22 studies, there was moderate evidence against a link between rotation range and shoulder pain in swimmers; an older review rated it more highly, and findings vary with age and level.
Men who lifted had less active shoulder range than non-lifters, except turning out (60 men); women who lifted had less inward turning (57 women); and bodybuilders turned in 11 degrees less (29 against 25 people). These are snapshots, and we found no trial of a fix in lifters.
In 100 adults with hypermobile shoulders, heavy, full-range strengthening beat light exercise at 16 weeks, by less than the smallest change that matters to patients, and not at a year. Hypermobile athletes had about 3 times the odds of a shoulder injury across 6 studies of low quality.
Exercise improved range, function and pain across 33 studies, supervised exercise possibly more than home exercise, while manual therapy added to exercise showed no clear benefit in pooled analyses (very low to low certainty). The NHS says it can take months or years to get better.
Yoga's effect on shoulder mobility rests on limited evidence across 8 studies, and in older adults yoga had no clear effect on upper-body flexibility across 12 studies.
Stretching programmes didn't cut sports injuries across 25 trials, and the extra range from one session fades within about 30 minutes.
Hold 30 seconds, 2 to 5 times, on most days: the cross-body stretch for turning in and the back of the shoulder; the doorway stretch, elbow at or below shoulder height, for the chest; the lat stretch at a bench or extended puppy pose for overhead reach. These are the doses in our shoulder routines and the cross-body trial, inside our flexibility guide's 30 to 60 seconds.
A few slow shoulder circles, wall angels and strap pass-throughs, ribs down and trunk still. They prepare the shoulder for the session; they don't build lasting range on their own.
Band external rotations, prone Y-T-W raises, scapular push-ups, light pullovers, and full-range presses and rows, light and slow, stopping 2 or 3 reps short of failure (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine, with our plans' effort rules).
Overhead reach depends on an upper back that can straighten. Add the rotation and extension work in our thoracic mobility guide.
The stretching trials ran 4 weeks; expect change over weeks, not days, and people vary. Once you're happy, a few stretches 2 or 3 days a week kept range in a trial of the hamstrings, as our flexibility guide says.
Arching the lower back to fake overhead reach (keep your ribs down); shrugging in wall angels; cranking the sleeper stretch into a pinch at the front of the shoulder; forcing pass-throughs past pain; stretching only and skipping the rotator cuff and shoulder blade strength (our editorial list).
Our editorial session, built on our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine and our overhead press guide's wall check.
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The movement on the figure: Wall angel
Slide, circle and stretch to the edge of your range, ribs down: wall angels at 8 slow slides, a small range is fine (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine); shoulder circles at 3 slow circles each way with each arm (our editorial starting point, as on the move page); pass-throughs with a strap at 2 sets of 10 slow passes, wide grip first (our editorial starting point); the lat stretch at a bench for 30 to 45 seconds, 2 to 4 times (the dose ACE gives for its kneeling lat stretch at a bench); and extended puppy pose at 2 holds of 45 seconds, hands on blocks if your shoulders pinch (our yoga for weightlifters session). Bar hangs suit healthy shoulders only, starting with your feet on a step taking some weight (our pull-up challenge).
3D demoWall angelBeginner · A wall
3D demoShoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoShoulder dislocates with a strap (pass-throughs)Beginner · Other / check instructions
3D demoOverhead lat stretch at a bench (elbows on the bench)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoExtended puppy pose (Uttana Shishosana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBar hangIntermediate · Pull-up bar + A stepCross-body first: 2 holds of 30 seconds each side, arm at chest height (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine), or 5 holds of 30 seconds on the tighter side once a day (our swimmers' routine and the cross-body trial). The sleeper stretch only for a clear loss of turning in on one side, 3 holds of 30 seconds with light pressure (our editorial starting point, from the one-session trial), stopping at a pinch. The doorway chest opener for 30 seconds each side, elbow at or below shoulder height.
Light loads, slow reps, 2 or 3 times a week: band external rotations at 12 to 15 each arm, elbow at your side, scapular push-ups at 10 on a wall or bench, and prone Y-T-W raises at 5 of each shape (our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine); Cuban rotations at 2 sets of 10, turning up over 5 seconds and down over 5, once rotations with the elbow at the side are pain-free (our swimmers' shoulder care routine); and dumbbell pullovers at 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, stopping with 2 or 3 reps in reserve (our editorial starting point, as on the move page).
3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoProne Y-T-W raisesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoCuban rotationIntermediate · A dumbbell + A band
3D demoProne swimmersAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoDumbbell pullover (along the bench)Intermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or boxUse the wall check before you press overhead. If you're short, press one arm at a time or at an incline while you build range, as our overhead press guide advises, and work the lats, chest and upper back. Lifters often lose a little inward turning, so keep the cross-body stretch and full-range rows in your week (our suggestion; no trial has tested a fix in lifters).
Rotation range isn't a reliable risk factor for swimmer's shoulder. Our swimmers' shoulder care routine pairs a little stretching for one-sided stiffness with shoulder blade and rotator cuff strength; sensible training load matters too.
Side-to-side differences in rotation are inconsistent predictors of injury, and too little turning out mattered more than lost turning in among professionals. The best-tested action is a whole warm-up programme with stretching, mobility and balance, plus rotator cuff strength; our baseball arm care warm-up and throwing arm sessions carry it.
Sitting tall gives you more overhead reach in the moment, but the upper back's curve doesn't predict shoulder pain. Move often: a few shoulder circles and wall angels during the day cost little.
Shoulder range falls with age more than at most joints, so gentle, regular reaching and full-range strength work matter more, not less. The NHS asks adults over 65 for strength, balance and flexibility work on at least 2 days a week; everyday tasks need well short of the textbook range.
Our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine takes 25 minutes with a light band, 3 times a week or as a warm-up. Throwers and swimmers have their own sessions.
A 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandEight gentle neck and shoulder stretches for desk stiffness, done standing or seated in ten minutes.
10 minBeginner8 movesA wallA 25-minute session for the overhead squat: check your ankles and reach, loosen what the check shows, then climb from the goblet squat to a dowel and an empty bar.
25 minIntermediate14 movesCardio machine, A wallA 30-minute practice session for the overhead press: check your overhead reach, groove it with a band and seated dumbbells, then press the empty bar.
30 minBeginner9 movesA band, A wallA 20-minute rotator cuff and shoulder-blade routine for swimmers, from a 12-week trial in competitive swimmers, plus a daily cross-body stretch.
20 minBeginner9 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 25-minute dryland yoga class for swimmers: upper-back turns, shoulder-blade and trunk holds, hips for kicking and slow breathing, safe for loose shoulders.
25 minBeginner16 movesA wallA 12-minute arm care warm-up for baseball and softball, built on a Japanese youth programme: an arm massage, shoulder, forearm and hip stretches, and balance.
12 minBeginner9 movesA massage ball, A wallA 35-minute session for baseball and softball players: the five Shoulder Control exercises, rotator cuff and forearm work, medicine-ball throws and legs.
35 minIntermediate17 movesA dumbbell, A cable machineA 15-minute warm-up and mobility routine for CrossFit-style training: easy rowing, shoulder, wrist, hip and ankle mobility, shoulder-blade work and squats.
15 minBeginner14 movesCardio machine, A wallA 25-minute yoga class for people who lift: ankles and hips for the squat, the hinge, and the upper back and shoulders for overhead, after training or on a rest day.
25 minBeginner16 movesA wallA tight chest from desk work or pressing: a minute of ball release each side, a doorway stretch, then the back and shoulder-blade work that changed posture.
12 minBeginner7 movesA massage ball, A wallA 12-minute routine for a stiff upper back and rounded shoulders: chin tucks, wall angels, Y-T-W raises and open books.
12 minBeginner8 movesA foam roller, A wallNo plan is built around the shoulder: the 4-day split and the calisthenics plan suit overhead pressing and hangs once your range allows.
A 4-day upper/lower split: two upper body and two lower body gym days, each muscle trained twice a week, with sets, reps and progression.
4 training days50 minIntermediate3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginnerA shoulder that has become stiff in every direction, especially if it's painful, may be a frozen shoulder. Don't push through it with harder stretching: see a GP or physiotherapist and follow our frozen shoulder guide (our suggestion, following the NHS frozen shoulder page and our frozen shoulder guide).
Frozen shoulder is the exception to the 5 out of 10 rule: our frozen shoulder guide keeps it to mild discomfort.
Strength first, in the middle of the range. Keep the elbow by your side for rotations, stop short of any feeling of slipping, build load gradually, and leave out bar hangs after a recent dislocation, as our shoulder joint page and shoulder dislocation guide advise.
If a shoulder feels as if it slips during circles or hangs, leave out end-range shoulder work and see a physiotherapist. Our shoulder dislocation guide has the strengthening plan.
A dead hang takes the shoulder towards the end of its range. Across 6 studies, hypermobile athletes had about three times the odds of a shoulder injury (low-quality evidence), and a third of circus artists in a US study met the criteria for hypermobility. Keep your shoulders active in hangs rather than sinking to the end of their range, and leave hanging out after a recent dislocation until you're cleared (our suggestion); our pole dancing and aerial arts pages say more.
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Breast Cancer Now and UK hospital leaflets ask you to keep your arm below shoulder height for the first week. The stretching exercises come in from the second week, once any removable stitches and drains are out.
After breast cancer surgery or radiotherapy, follow your breast care team's or physiotherapist's exercises first; our exercises after breast cancer surgery guide has the week-by-week plan (our suggestion).
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Skip the cross-body stretch while the top of your shoulder (the AC joint) is sore, because the stretch presses on it.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.
Call 999: shoulder or arm pain with chest pain that feels tight or squeezing, or chest pain that spreads to your arms, neck or jaw, especially with shortness of breath, sweating or feeling sick. It could be a heart attack.
Shoulder or arm pain with chest pain or tightness, or severe difficulty breathing, is a 999 call (911 in the US), not a reason to stretch.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem. If you've been diagnosed with angina, get help from NHS 111 too if it feels worse than before, is happening more often, lasts longer or happens when you're resting.
Call 999 or go to A&E: after a fall or injury, your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape, you cannot move your arm, or your shoulder is painful, bruised or swollen. Do not drive yourself, and do not try to put it back in yourself.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm or shoulder, an arm or shoulder that's hot or cold to touch, pain after an injury or a fall, severe pain in both shoulders, or feeling feverish or unwell. Go to A&E if, after an injury, you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. See a GP if shoulder pain is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): sudden weakness lifting the arm after an injury or fall. A rotator cuff tear caused by an injury needs urgent referral to a shoulder specialist. After a dislocation in anyone over 40, the rotator cuff should be checked: about 40% have a tear.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): the shoulder or arm is hot, swollen or red, or you have a high temperature (although not everyone has one) or feel unwell. A joint infection needs same-day care.
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Your shoulder has partly or fully come out of joint, or you worry it might, including a clunk, a dead arm or a feeling it will slip when you hang from the bar or at the bottom of a pull-up. Get it checked by a GP or physiotherapist soon (our suggestion).
Pins and needles or a cold arm alongside neck pain, or a new loss of strength or feeling in the arm that you cannot explain (a possible nerve problem).
Arm weakness or numbness that keeps getting worse, severe pain that painkillers and rest do not touch, or an unexplained fever.
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Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.
Keep shoulder pain to about 5 out of 10 or less during the exercise, back to its usual level by your next session, as our shoulder guides advise. A sharp pinch means lower, lighter or stop.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.
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If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.
Stretching programmes didn't prevent sports injuries. In youth baseball, a whole warm-up with stretching, mobility and balance did, and it's the package that was tested.
The upper back's curve didn't differ between people with and without shoulder pain. Slumping limits reach in the moment, which is a different thing.
Source 3
GIRD stands for glenohumeral internal rotation deficit: turning in less on the throwing side. Pooled data didn't find a significant link with injury, and in professionals too little turning out mattered more.
Moderate evidence opposes a link between rotation range and shoulder pain in swimmers.
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In the one head-to-head trial, the cross-body stretch gained more. The sleeper stretch presses on the shoulder and suits a clear loss of turning in on one side.
Source 6
Lifters often have a little less inward turning, but resistance training through a full range improves range overall.
Hypermobile athletes had about 3 times the odds of shoulder injury, and loose shoulders do better with strength through the range.
A shoulder stiff in every direction may be a frozen shoulder, which takes months and needs gentle, guided work. Our frozen shoulder guide keeps it to mild discomfort.
Stretch the direction you lack for 30 seconds at a time, 2 to 5 times, on most days, move your shoulders through their range with slow circles and wall angels, and strengthen through the range with band rotations, Y-T-W raises and full-range presses and rows. Work your upper back too: slumping cut arm raising by up to 24 degrees in a study.
Wall angels and shoulder circles for overhead reach, the cross-body stretch for the back of the shoulder, the doorway stretch for the chest, the lat stretch at a bench, and band external rotations and pullovers for strength through the range. Our shoulder mobility and rotator cuff routine puts them together.
Stand with your back against a wall and slide your arms up it: if they reach the wall overhead without your lower back lifting off, you have the range to press overhead, as our overhead press guide says. Reaching behind your back from above and below and comparing sides is a quick check of rotation.
The cross-body stretch gained about 20 degrees of turning in over 4 weeks in a small trial, and overhead athletes gained about 7 degrees with stretching across 6 trials, according to a review's abstract. Expect change over weeks, not days, and people vary.
Use the wall check, work the upper back and lats, and press one arm at a time or at an incline until your range improves, as our overhead press guide advises. Strength through the range, such as light pullovers and Y-T-W raises, helps you use what you gain.
Only for a clear loss of turning in on the throwing side, gently, and stop at a pinch. In the one comparison the cross-body stretch gained more, and in youth baseball a whole warm-up of stretching, mobility and balance cut injuries.
Not usually: rotation range isn't a reliable risk factor for swimmer's shoulder. Shoulder blade and rotator cuff strength and sensible training load matter more, and our swimmers' routine covers both.
Usually a stiff back of the shoulder or tight front muscles, and range falls with age. If it came on with pain and stiffness in every direction, it may be a frozen shoulder: see our frozen shoulder guide.
Usually not: build strength through the range you have, keep your elbow by your side for rotations, and stop short of any slipping, as our strengthen your shoulders guide says. Heavy, full-range strengthening helped hypermobile shoulders in a trial.
It takes the shoulder towards the end of its range and can feel good for healthy shoulders, but no trial has tested it for range, and it's not for a recent dislocation or a shoulder that slips. Start with your feet on a step taking some weight.
Sitting tall raises overhead reach in the moment, but the upper back's curve doesn't predict shoulder pain. Upper back mobility and strength work is worth doing for reach; our posture guides cover posture itself.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
