MORE Shoulder, Neck, and Upper Body Stretches to Do at Home

         Welcome to the second installment of Shoulder, Neck, Upper Back, Chest, and Facial exercises.  These exercises are a combination of standing, sitting, table, and floor activities, all designed to help you unlock, locked muscles and tension, as well as stretching and opening these areas without any medication or excessive pain.  Check out these exercises and give them a try.  OBVIOUSLY, there are a LOT of exercises between this post and the last one.  You don’t need to do them all.  My advice to you, though, is to try as many as possible, doing several at a time and, then, next time, try a few different ones.  None of these are overly demanding and you definitely need to listen to your own body to avoid pushing anything too far.  Here we go:

•            Cross-Body Arm Stretch - Stand up straight and cross your right arm over your chest.  Use your left hand to carefully pull the right upper arm, and stretch.  Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds, relax, and duplicate the exercise on the left side.  Perform these exercises a minimum of FIVE times.

•            Backward Upper Body Stretch - For this exercise you may need a small hand towel.  I would definitely recommend using the towel to begin with.  Then, as your stretch gets easier and easier, you may discard the towel.  This exercise is most easily executed standing erect.  You reach your right arm straight up, holding your towel in your hand.  Bend your elbow so that your right hand drops toward your shoulder and the towel falls down your back.  Now, reach around with your LEFT hand and grab the towel as high as possible.  Once you are not using the towel, reach up with your left hand to grasp the fingers of your right hand.  In either case, gently pull and feel the stretch.  Repeat this process on the LEFT side, reaching around with the RIGHT hand to carefully pull.  This exercise should be repeated on both sides several times.

•            Table Shoulder Stretch - You need a table (dinner table height) and chair for this exercise.  Sit your chair approximately TWO feet from a table.  Extend your arms in front of you on the table and as you do, bend from the waist until you feel a stretch through your shoulders and upper back.  Hold this position for 30 seconds minimum.

•            Table Circular Stretch - This exercise requires a table (dinner table height).  Standing near the corner of the table but approximately TWO feet away from it, place your LEFT hand with arm straight, on top of the table corner   Bend slightly from the waist and swing your right arm down and around in a circular motion, once clockwise, and then, counter-clockwise.  Repeat this activity TEN times, and then, change sides so that your right arm is straight and grounded on the table corner.  Bending over, swing your left arm, creating a circular movement in front of you.  Your upper body should be relaxed.  Your knees should be soft, NOT locked.  As this activity is performed, the body may rock back and forth.  The purpose of this exercise is to build range of motion in your shoulders.  You should repeat the stretches on each side TEN times, at least.

•            Shoulder Shrugs and Presses - Shrug your shoulders up hard and hold the position for TEN seconds.  Repeat this a minimum of TEN times.  Next, press your shoulders down as hard as you can and hold that position for TEN seconds at least.  Repeat this exercise at least TEN times.

•            Neck and Spine Stretch - This exercise is very simple.  To begin with, simply lower your chin toward your chest and allow yourself to feel the stretch.  BE PATIENT!  This is not going to help immediately but it works wonders with patience and a little time investment.  IF you are very careful, as you lean your head forward, place your hands with fingers laced, on top on your head.  DO NOT PULL!  The added weight of your hands will allow the stretch to go deeper and farther.  Again, this is not necessarily pleasant but it is a very effective stretch.  Once you’ve completed each stretch, roll your shoulders up, back, and down, or up, forward, and down to release any tension.

•            Modified Bench Press - Do NOT use weights or barbells.  Instead, just try a broom or even an umbrella or the like.  Lie flat on the floor or on an exercise mat, holding the broom or other object with both hands.  Your hands should then be placed approximately shoulder width apart.  Press the object/broom upward until your arms are fully extended with your elbows outwards.  Don’t lock your elbows!  Hold the elevated position for 20 to 30 seconds, lower and repeat, at least FOUR more times.

•            Under the Bridge - This is a floor exercise.  Get down on all fours.  Remove your left hand and slide it under the “Bridge” your body makes between your right arm and your legs.  Continue to slide it along the ground in a relaxed, natural way but do NOT rotate your hips. This will probably limit you somewhat but stop when your hips begin to bend or open.  You should still get a good stretch through your shoulders and your Thoracic spine.

•            Cat Stretch with Arm Extension - Lie facedown on the floor or an exercise mat so that your arms are bent at your sides with your elbows close to your side and your hands at about your chest level.  Pressing down on the floor with your hands, peel your chest upward.  Your legs should be straight out behind you and your back will be arched upward as you press your hands down, lifting your head and upper body.  Don’t allow your neck to be tense; consciously relax it.  Also, take care not to strain your lower back.  With your elbows close at your sides, lift your right hand and straighten out your right arm, keeping your bicep lined up with your ear, and stretching over to the left.  Hold the position for FIVE seconds, then lower the right arm and repeat the exercise of your left side.  This can be a difficult activity.  If it is TOO difficult, confine yourself to the original stretch but repeat both sides or the original stretch up to a total of FIVE times.

•            Rotational Shoulder Floor Exercise - Lie on the floor or on a mat on your right side with your legs bent slightly in front of you comfortably.  Your right arm needs to be straight, level with your shoulder, and perpendicular to your body.  Place your left hand on your right arm and begin by sliding it slightly forward but then, straighten your arm, and sweep it up and back, arching up and moving it as far to the left side as possible, following your arm with your nose, face, and gaze.  However, be careful not to allow your hips to follow your left arm; they need to remain stable as you lie on your right side.  When you reach the farthest point with your arm, hold there for a few seconds before resetting to your original position on your right side.  Repeat this exercise on the right side TEN times, then, roll over to your left side and do the exercise TEN times on this side as well.

•            Tennis Ball Therapy - For this exercise, you will need 2 new tennis balls and a clean adult sock.  If you have access to a “Tube” sock, these are the best.  Press the tennis balls all the way down into the bottom of the sock as tightly as possible.  Tie a knot in the sock so that the tennis balls are held firmly in place.  At this point, you need to get onto the floor on your back   Place the Tennis Balls Sock so that one ball sits on one side of your spine and the other ball parallels it on the other side of the spine.  Using your elbows to hold your body at a more comfortable distance with regard to the balls, SLOWLY and carefully roll up and back over approximately THREE to FOUR INCHES of your spine at a time.  Your goal should be to roll back and forth over the same three to four-inch segment of your spine to a count of TWENTY.  Then, move the Tennis Balls Sock up another couple of inches and repeat the process of rolling back and forth to a count of twenty.  Continue this process until you reach your neck.  Unfortunately, you must stop here.  This therapy cannot be used on your neck but it is incredibly effective up and down your back/spine.  WARNING:  This WILL be a little painful to begin with.  You DEFINITELY have to learn to raise yourself somewhat off the Balls but once you get used to this therapy, you can lie directly on the Tennis Balls Sock.  When I travel, I ALWAYS take along a Tennis Balls Sock to work out all the kinks in my body from the stress of traveling.  These exercises massage the interfacial muscles that hold your spine in place.  Though the actual exercise will probably be somewhat uncomfortable, you will experience almost instantaneous relief from it or, at least, within about 20 minutes.    Especially if your back has been sore or locked up for a longer period of time, you will probably have to repeat this therapy once a day for several days.  However, short of getting a professional massage for $100, this is an amazing alternative.

•            Facial exercises - These are GREAT FOR SINGERS and I highly recommend doing these exercises, as well as several of the neck and shoulder exercises on a regular basis.  These will allow you to be relaxed and in control when you begin to sing.  There are several exercises you can do to work out your face, including:  (1) Open your mouth as wide as you can, lifting your eyebrows, and hold this for about TEN seconds.  Then, release, relax, let go of any and all the tension in your face and jaw.  Repeat, at least one more time; (2) Stick your tongue straight out and hold it for several seconds; stick your tongue out and try to touch your nose; stick your tongue out and try to touch your chin.  Repeat all three Tongue exercises FOUR more times; (3) Relax your mouth so that it falls open slightly; move your lower jaw to the right, back to the center, to the left, and back to center.  Repeat, at least FOUR more times; (4) Purse and protrude your lips, then, smile broadly, and repeat, at least, FOUR more times; (5) Squeeze every muscle in your face as hard as you can; hold for several seconds; relax; repeat FOUR more times at minimum; (6) This last exercise may take some practice because to do it correctly, you have to COMPLETELY relax your face.  You are going to SHAKE OUT EVERY MUSCLE IN YOUR FACE!  When I do this exercise, I shake my head from side to side while allowing your cheeks, lips, and jaw to “flop” from side to side.  If you ever saw the film, “The Kings’ Speech” with Geoffrey Rush as the Speech Therapist, he demonstrated this exercise to King George, Colin Firth.  Be careful, this can make you dizzy.  If needed, you can repeat this Shake but that is rarely necessary.  Only YOU will know if your facial elements are totally relaxed and moving.  THIS is why I mentioned above that you might need to actually “practice” this exercise.                        

Thank you so much for reading this and for, hopefully, trying out these exercises.  This post and the previous post contain MANY exercises that should help you very effectively stretch and heal pulled, sore muscles.  Hopefully, this goes without saying that a physician should treat prolonged pain or disabling injuries.  These exercises are merely ways you can practice some personal physical therapy to maintain muscle fitness and stretch out minor challenges.  Please contact me with your questions, comments, and/or ideas for future blog post topics; I welcome them!  If you have questions about my lessons or me, check out my website at www.SingitForward.net.    Thanks again!  Sing it Forward!