Head, shoulders, knees, and toes (knees and toes). There are two and only two ball-and-socket joints in the human body. They are the shoulders and hips. This type of joint allows for free movement across several planes. In the shoulder, the ball part in the end of the humerus which sits the socket of the acetabulum. This arrangement means your shoulder loses a bit of stability in order to extend range of motion (ROM).

Since that is the way we are built, utilizing the full range of motion means we are getting the best bang for our buck. Dislocates and pass-throughs are a way to facilitate that full ROM. Your shoulder is going through all the planes of motion with the ease of a PVC twirling around.

Why? This is a warm-up exercise to prepare for load. By going through the full ROM movements, you are preparing your muscles for greater use. You are also reminding your muscles that we used to be able to do this with ease and with practice, we can again. Warm-up movements allow your body to acclimate to the stressors of exercise, prepare for load later, and get your heart in gear for a greater challenge.

Having full ROM in your shoulders allows for greater arm movement, but also stabilizes your shoulder for reaching and your arms for pulling or pushing. Having a strong shoulder girdle makes getting up off the ground easier. You would think it was all legs. You would be wrong.

Story time: My son is a personal coach, used to own a CrossFit gym, and is a firefighter. One of his company’s stations is right outside a Sun City. While assigned at that firehouse, he spends a lot of time picking up old people. Many falls occur in the bathroom and we are usually not at our most dignified in that room. While he is a kind and generous man who can help the fallen, he doesn’t want his parents in that situation. He programs our workouts to keep us upright, but also to get us back to upright should the worst happen.

I complained about all the arm work because my bench press just sucks. I feel weak and hopeless because my brain wants to move more weight than my spaghetti arms can handle. So I whined. “Why all the arm stuff?” He answered that I was not going to defy gravity and magically rise from the floor without the ability to push myself up. It’s not all legs. You need your arms.

I still hate bench presses. I do them with sadness in my heart. I don’t feel that way with dumbbell bench presses which makes no sense, but as we go through our fitness journey, we must realize that not everything can be explained with words.

Shoulders are important because they are the connection to the arms. Strong arms, good core strength, and determination is what is going to get me and you into a position so we can rise like a phoenix from the ashes if we are ever flat out on the floor.

Did you realize how important arms are to getting up off the floor?

Stay balanced.

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