By the healthiergang writer , medical student.
Shoulder blades: why they are important for training
It is essential to have stable shoulder blades and firmly in place for various reasons. An improvement in stance and therefore also inaesthetics. A reduction in the risk of accidents and a general improvement of performance in the gym.
Together with the collarbone, the scapula makes up the shoulder joint. There clavicle it's basically a bone motionless while the shoulder blade does not. There are several muscles that contribute to the stabilization of this bone, in this article the rhomboid and dentate will be explored. Rhomboid and dentate can be considered two muscles whose function is antagonistic.
toothed Front
Il toothed it's a muscle visible, located between the armpit and the upper border of the oblique abdominals. It is easily observed if (provided you have a low percentage of fat) you raise your arm. The dentate protrudes the shoulder and intervenes in the stabilization of this, in particular when the arm is raised.
Adequate development of this muscle assumes an aesthetic value but, above all, prevents any shoulder injuries. It also increases the force that can be produced in pushing movements as it stabilizes the joint. There are other bundles of the dentate that contribute to breathing.
Romboide
Il romboide it's a muscle invisible, is located under the middle trapezius and its task is to retract the shoulder blades together, concretely to keep them together. Adequate development of this muscle allows for a thickness of the upper back and above all it is a valid help in horizontal traction exercises. The rhomboid plays an important role in pushing movements as it helps to maintain an adequate position of the shoulders: retracted and depressed.
Exercises
Il toothed is mainly recruited as stabilizer muscle in most pushing movements. Its function intensifies the more the arm rises towards the vertical of the body. An exercise multi joint great for its development is the military press (o slow forward). This exercise involves a rotation of the scapula and the dentate plays an important role in this area especially a raised arm.
PULLOVER
Another exercise is the pullover. An exercise that also trains its function of protracting the shoulder can easily be achieved with push-ups (push up). At the end of a push-up, with your arm fully extended, imagine pushing the floor away with your hands. You will feel your shoulder blades move apart and your shoulders protrude. Maintain the position for approx 5 seconds (the dentate is a muscle that prefers functions of stabilization) and repeat the movement for 10 total repetitions.
SCROLLATE WITH BALANCER
Another exercise can be the shake with barbell above the head: always keeping the arms outstretched and weight overhead (end of the concentric phase of the slow forward) push the weight by raising the shoulders. It is an unusual exercise, not easy to perform correctly, but effective. If trained with criteria and consistency, the dentate makes a great aesthetic contribution to a dry bust e developed.
Il romboide intervenes as stabilizer muscle in the thrusting movements and lavra actively in the pulling movements, especially horizontal. Since the function of the rhomboid is to close the shoulder blades together, the best exercises to stimulate it include a tight grip.
T-BAR ROW
An excellent exercise can be the T-Bar Row (T-barbell rowing machine). During the execution of this exercise let the shoulders protrude, always maintaining control of the movement not without applying any resistance otherwise you risk injuries. Once shrugged his shoulders retract them, pull the weight into the final position and focus on contracting the shoulder blades as much as possible; hold the position for 2 seconds (even the rhomboid prefers isometric works).
SINGLE ARM OWNER WITH HANDLEBAR
Another great exercise for this muscle can be the single-arm rowing machine with handlebar. Adopt the same precautions as in the previous exercise. An exercise in isolation can be the inverse crosses to the high cables always adopting the same precautions.
Posture
As mentioned in the beginning, training these two muscles can benefit level of posture. It is therefore important that these muscles do not get stiff. Since most of the daily actions take place in front of us, one muscle that often has stiffness is the dentate. If you spend most of your time in front of the computer, your posture tends to kyphosis and your shoulders to protrude. Furthermore, the pectoral is a muscle which, presenting rigidity, tends to pull the shoulders forward, also compromising the toothed.
It is helpful to include a minute of in your warm-up routine tightness at the bar. Simply squeeze a bar and let yourself hang down trying to stretch the whole body as much as possible. this simple movement not only strengthens the grip, but also helps to stretch the intervertebral discs and can improve the impulse capacity of the nervous system (resulting in a slight increase in strength).
