Shoulder Band Dislocates 5 min

Hold a resistance band wider than shoulder-width and pass it from front to back overhead with straight arms — three sets of ten reps, five minutes total, to restore shoulder external rotation and overhead reach.

The session at a glance

• Focus: mobility
• Intensity: low
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Equipment: resistance band

The protocol

1. Band dislocates — 3 × 10 reps. Take a grip wider than shoulder-width, keep the arms straight throughout, and do not shrug the shoulders toward the ears.

Why this works

• It trains the range most desk work removes. Overhead reach and external rotation are the two shoulder ranges that disappear first when the arms spend the day in front of the body.
• Straight arms are the whole exercise. Bending the elbows shortens the lever and lets the shoulder skip the range being trained — the movement becomes easy and stops doing anything.
• Grip width is the intensity dial. A wider grip is easier; narrowing it over weeks is how the range progresses, with no change in load, sets or time.
• Five minutes fits anywhere. Short enough for a warm-up before pressing or a break between desk blocks, which is what makes a mobility drill actually get done.

How to scale it

• Start with the widest grip that lets the band pass overhead without the elbows bending or the shoulders shrugging — that is your true current range, whatever it looks like.
• Narrow the grip by a few centimetres only once ten reps are smooth and painless at the current width.
• Use a lighter band before a narrower grip if the pass feels forced. Mobility work that has to be muscled through is training compensation, not range.

Related protocols

• Thoracic Extension on Foam Roller 8 min
• Hip 90/90 Mobility 10 min
• Ankle Mobility — Knee-to-Wall 5 min

Sources

• MedlinePlus — Flexibility Exercise (Stretching)
• NIA — Four Types of Exercise

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