Deep to Superficial Training of the Shoulders and Hips

• To start with how I train the hips. This can be time consuming but is worth it and gets faster as you become more familiar with the exercises. I don’t do this every time I exercise my lower body though I sometimes devote an entire session to just these exercises. In the latter case the focus is less potentiation for a training session, and more potentiation/activation for the rest of my day with longer term hypertrophy and strength benefits for joint health and stability. The potentiation is especially noticeable when done before a walk or a hike.

  • This progression trains the hips from the deepest muscles responsible for rotational motion and stability, then moves on to more superficial muscles responsible for lateral stability (abduction and adduction), then continues to progress to exercises that challenge my “stability” in patterns closer to how I will be training, which most often focuses on flexion and extension of the hips and knees.

  • I would begin by providing a stimulus for internal and external rotation to the hip in both extension and flexion (especially when doing exercises like lunges), usually in a half kneeling position. Then continue by maintaining that stimulus in the range between flexion and extension by keeping a band or strap attached to the foot and going through a crawling motion so the band or strap (attached to a cable machine) pulls the hip into internal/external rotation while the crawling motion simultaneously moves the hip from flexion to extension

  • After stimulating the muscles in the hip with internal and external rotation I would then move on to abduction and adduction again in both extension and flexion. This can be done by placing the band around the knee so it pulls the leg in towards the middle or out to the side. Then stepping forward and back so the hips goes through extension and flexion.

  • Then if time allows I will wrap the strap (attached to the cable machine) around my shoulder and across my chest and or back so it is twisting my body. This will further integrate the previously potentiated muscles and “teach” them to work with more of my body in more complex patterns. I will continue to go through many combinations of strap and foot positions as well as lunging and stepping motions and possible add some twists and turns to include more muscles of my hips and core.

    • At this point we are a getting a bit beyond potentiation and in to integration, and making the muscles more active and then associating that activity with increasing complex movement patterns so the deeper muscles will be more likely to be more active in similar movement patterns in the future.

  • After performing potentiating exercises and integrating exercises, I would go on with whatever lower body exercises I have planned for that session

  • Any of these exercises can be done on their own or worked in to a training session as described

  • In general I recommend starting at the top and working through them in order as time allows

  • See my videos on this for visual explanations of the exercises

• A similar routine can be conducted for the shoulder

  • For the shoulder I use a dowel connected to a cable machine (a resistance band would also work) and prime internal and external rotation in abduction, adduction, flexion. and extension

    • I use a longer dowel and keep my elbow flexed so the dowel can run along my forearm

      • I can adjust the position of my arm on the dowel to change the torque provided by the cable or band

  • Then I would use a shorter dowel or hold a curl bar with one hand on the side so the force twists my hand and arm and again prime internal and external rotation with flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction.

    • The smaller dowel allows me to provide a rotational stimulus while I move my with resistance through linear ranges of motion such as from extension to flexion in a front shoulder raise

    • There are many degrees of freedom in the shoulder so you may need to limit the combinations of hand positions, cable/band directions, and arm/shoulder movements.

    • Again this starts to get beyond potentiation and in to integration.

  • After performing potentiating exercises and integrating exercises, I would go on with whatever upper body exercises I have planned for that session

  • Any of these can be done as their own exercises or worked in to a training session as described