Things You'll Need:
- Tennis ball
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Step 1
Perform shoulder abduction exercises to increase strength. Stand with your feet together and your arms at your side. Lift your arm up and away from the body keeping it straight while doing so. Perform 15 or more of these exercises on the right arm before resting for 30 seconds. Alternate to the left arm for the next set. Build the number of exercises in your sets gradually and don't exceed 25 repetitions.
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Step 2
Target the rotator cuffs muscles with both external and internal rotation exercises. Do sets of 15 or more of each exercise alternately. To perform an external rotation stand with your right arm at your side and bent at the elbow. Slowly rotate your arm away from your body for the pre-set number of exercises. Repeat with your left arm. Rest for 30 seconds. For the internal rotation exercises you will perform the identical exercise except you will be rotating your arm toward your body. Again, build in your sets gradually without going over 25 repetitions.
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Step 3
Work on increasing your shoulders' endurance by "can lift" exercises. Stand up straight and raise your chest to align your shoulders. During this exercise try to continually flex your shoulder blades. Lift your arms out to your sides and position your hands inward approximately 2 feet. Your thumbs should be facing the ceiling. Move your hands down to your side and then raise them again until they are even with your head. Repeat this in a slow and smooth motion for one to two minutes. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat the set.
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Step 4
Work out with a tennis ball to help stabilize your scapula. Stand at arm's length from a wall. While keeping your elbow straight, hold the ball against the wall with your extended palm. Contract your shoulder muscles while keeping the ball pinned. Make little slow counter-clockwise circles with the ball against the wall for 30 seconds. Then begin rotating the ball clockwise for another 30 seconds. Rest for 45 seconds and repeat three more sets.
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Step 5
Use push-up exercises to build chest muscles and stabilize shoulder blades. Begin performing this exercise against a wall before advancing to your knees and finally to the regular floor push-up. When working against the wall, allow your palms to touch the wall with your hands a shoulder width apart. Move your chest to the wall and back away again in a slow smooth motion. Hold for two seconds between repetitions while allowing your shoulders to be further forward than your back. Build up until you can perform these for two minutes. After your have built your endurance you should move to the floor, first on your knees and then (once that exercise is mastered) with your legs extended.
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Step 6
Remember not to neglect your other muscle groups while concentrating on your shoulders. Incorporate core muscle exercises such as crunches and leg exercises such as squats and hamstring pulls to your routine. This will not only balance your workout but will serve to help stabilize your shoulders as your perform good shoulder posture while performing these other exercises.
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Step 7
Balance your swimming workout to help save your shoulders. Even if you are a freestyle (crawl) specialist, it is important to balance your practices with the other swim strokes--backstroke, breast, and fly--to help prevent injuries related to overuse of the specific set of shoulder muscles. The different movements involved in the different strokes will help work against the tendency to fatigue any specific muscles.
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Step 8
Improve your swimming technique to help counteract swimmer's shoulder. The more correct your technique in the water, the less chance you will develop an injury. Take lessons if you are novice from an experienced swim teacher. If you are a competitive swimmer, make sure you practice under the watchful eye of a coach who can help you perform proper technique and will be cognizant of any lapses in form.
