25 External Rotator Exercises for Climbers
Hooper’s Beta Ep. 68
Intro
The external rotators are one of the most important muscle groups in the shoulder and they are certainly helpful for climbers! This video is here to give you a roadmap figure out which external rotator exercise is best for you whether you are recovering from an injury or trying to work on your training program! This is not designed to be an isolated workout. What level are you!
Below you’ll find the short list of exercises but if you keep scrolling you’ll see a few notes about each exercise!
Exercises
Isometric ER
Sidelying ER no weight
Sidelying ER with weight
Reactive isometric ER with band
Active ER with band
Bilateral ER with scap retraction with band
Prone W’s no weight
Prone W’s with weight
Standing W’s with band
Bent over W’s with weight
Band resisted ER wall slides
Supported ER @ 90 deg abd with weight
Supported ER @ 90 deg flex with weight
Prone ER @ 90 deg abd
Prone ER Ball toss
Prone ER @ 90 deg and with weight
Prone ER Angels no weight
Prone ER Angels with weight
Unsupported ER @ 90 deg abd with band
Unsupported ER @ 90 deg flex with band
ER @ 90 deg abd ball bounce against wall
Unsupported B ER @ 90 deg abd “scarecrows”
Single leg balance ER @ 90 deg abd with band with OH Press
Face Pulls
Face Pulls with OH press
Exercises with Descriptions
Isometric ER - push your fist sideways into a wall with your arm by your side and elbow bent to 90 degrees. Minimize movement, this is a lower level exercise meant to simply allow you to safely activate your external rotators without pain.
Sidelying ER no weight - lay on your side with your arm on your side and rotate your fist up. Gravity is the only thing you are fighting here.
Sidelying ER with weight - same as before but now add weight. Don’t go for excess range of motion here. Stopping with your arm parallel to the ground is great.
Reactive isometric ER with band - arm by your side, elbow bent to 90 degrees, secure a band in a doorway and walk away creating resistance. Similar to #1 where you don’t want movement of your arm, but now the movement of your body causes the band to increase in resistance. A safe activity with use of an external force.
Active ER with band - secure a band, arm by your side, elbow bent to 90 degrees, rotate the arm out ~45-60 degrees.
Bilateral ER with scap retraction with band - grab a band with both hands, palms up, squeeze your shoulder blades together and rotate your arms out. One of my personal favorites and one that I use to warm up for climbing all the time!
Prone W’s no weight - Lay on your stomach, arms in a W position, bring the arms and fists up towards the sky. If you don’t lift the fists, this is just a rhomboid activity, so make sure to reach the fists to the sky.
Prone W’s with weight - same as before but add weight
Standing W’s with band - secure a band in front of you. It can be at chest height or slightly lower. Pull the shoulder blades together while making a ‘W’ with your arms. Tip: your thumbs should be pointing towards your jaw / ear at the end of the movement. If your firsts are in front of your face, you aren’t getting enough external rotation. If the fists are too high (example: thumbs pointing towards the top of your head), you’re doing a more advanced exercise.
Bent over W’s with weight - while holding onto weights, bend over slightly and then make a W with your arms. Make sure to squeeze the shoulder blades together and keep your core engaged to help protect your lower back.
Band resisted ER wall slides - wrap a band in a circle and place it around your forearms or wrists, start with your hands in front of your face and slide your arms up keeping your forearms parallel. If you cannot maintain parallel with your forearms, the band is too strong.
Supported ER @ 90 deg abd with weight - grab a weight, rest your elbow on a table with the shoulder 90 degrees to your side, keep the elbow stationary while lowering the weight down then back up. Focus on a slow lower for this to build strength and stability.
Supported ER @ 90 deg flex with weight - same as before but now the elbow is directly in front of you
Prone ER @ 90 deg abd - lay on your stomach, bring your shoulder 90 degrees out to the side with the elbow bent to 90, raise the elbow and fist up to the sky
Prone ER Ball toss - same as before but hold onto a ball and play catch with yourself (same hand). The heavier the ball, the harder this exercise becomes.
Prone ER @ 90 deg abd with weight - same as before but with weight. Start with light weight as this can be challenging.
Prone ER Angels no weight - same start as the prone W but now bring your arms up towards your head and back down
Prone ER Angels with weight - same as before but now with weight. Stop when your elbows reach the 90 degree position.
Unsupported ER @ 90 deg abd with band - standing and holding onto a band, bring your shoulder 90 degrees out to the side with the first forward. Keeping your mid back engaged, rotated the arm backwards until your forearm is vertical.
Unsupported ER @ 90 deg flex with band - same as #19 but with the shoulder 90 degrees flexed in front of you.
ER @ 90 deg abd ball bounce against wall - similar to the prone one but more about control. A heavier ball makes this harder. Works the internal rotators as well. Meant to help more with dynamic stability.
Unsupported B ER @ 90 deg abd “scarecrows” - great to work the lengthening or eccentric aspect of our external rotators. Good for cave or horizontal climbing.
Single leg balance ER @ 90 deg abd with band with OH Press - single leg balance not shown in the video but helpful for climbers. Now perform the same exercise as #19 but add in the overhead press component for an additional stability challenge.
Face Pulls - grab the band with both arms while the band is anchored at chest to head height. Start with your arms extended in front of you. In one motion, pull both arms back to the 90-90 position (90 degrees of shoulder abduction, 90 degrees of elbow flexion) while squeezing the shoulder blades together and moving into external rotation. Your thumbs should be pointed towards each other and at the top of your head.
Face Pulls with OH press - same as #24 but now, while maintaining good scapular retraction, press both arms overhead. Lower the arms back down, then go back to the start position and repeat.
Disclaimer:
As always, exercises are to be performed assuming your own risk and should not be done if you feel you are at risk for injury. See a medical professional if you have concerns before starting new exercises.
Written and Presented by Jason Hooper, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CAFS
IG: @hoopersbetaofficial
Filming and Editing by Emile Modesitt
www.emilemodesitt.com
IG: @emile166
