- The Moves
- Trainer Tips
“Work on your shoulder mobility,” is advice I give so often I may as well put it on business cards. And the thing is, it really is vital to being able to move well and ride strong at any age.
But as cyclists, we face a double-whammy challenge when it comes to maintaining happy, freely-moving shoulders: we sit too much while looking at devices, and we ride bikes. Both put our upper body in a forward-leaning position.
If our upper body muscles become tight, or in the case of being on the bike, fatigued, or if we have muscle weakness in our shoulders, upper back, core or chest, we’ll likely develop a posture with forward-rounded shoulders and possibly even “tech neck.”
None of this is great for our performance and breathing on the bike, nor is it beneficial for moving well in day to day life and staying pain-free, no matter what our age.
So, what’s a good place to start working on shoulder mobility? There’s more than one way to answer this question, and the answer that I think is best is this: the best place to start is with a routine that you can realistically stay with consistently. Because ultimately, any training protocol can only be effective if you actually do it regularly, which usually means several times a week.
In my experience as a trainer, both personally and professionally, the highest hurdle to the “actually doing it” part is time. This is one of the many ways training strategically with a plan can be helpful; it allows you to look at your schedule to find pockets of time for movement and exercise like strength training or mobility work.
Pockets of time rather than hours seem to be more readily available to just about everyone (this is why I’m a huge proponent of “exercise snacks.”) These pockets of exercise time add up, and so do the benefits.
This is a shoulder mobility routine I fit into a pocket of time almost every day, usually while I’m waiting for coffee to brew in the morning. It takes about ten minutes, requires zero equipment and only minimal thinking—all things that make it well-suited for pre-coffee.
Try finding a pocket of time in your day to perform the moves below, and get ready to make your shoulders happy. I recommend doing this routine daily.
The Moves
Sweeping Overhead Reach
Reps: 12-15
Alternating Palms Facing Up
Reps: 10-15 per side
Wall Angles
Reps: 8-12
Elbow Touches
Reps: 10-15
Alternating Hand Touches Behind Back
Reps: 8-12 per side
Trainer Tips
- When doing these exercises, focus on keeping your shoulders relaxed and down away from your ears
- Keeping your core engaged and maintain good posture. Use a mirror to check your form.
- Move at a slow and steady rhythm for maximum mobility benefits from the moves.
- Stay mindful of your range of motion and avoid overextension.
Natascha Grief, NASM-CPT, -CES, -CNC, -BCS, -SFC
Health & Fitness Editor
Natascha Grief is Bicycling’s Health & Fitness Editor. She started in the cycling industry as a bike mechanic a couple of decades ago, earning a couple pro-mechanic certifications and her USA Cycling Race Mechanic license. She went on to apprentice for framebuilder Brent Steelman in her hometown of Redwood City, California before spending several years working for both large and not-so-large cycling brands. She then switched gears and industries to earn multiple personal training certifications while honing her skills as a trainer and coach, specializing in functional training, corrective exercise, and body positive personal training. She began contributing regularly to Runner’s World and Bicycling as a freelance writer in 2020, and joined the editorial staff of Bicycling in 2022.
