06/12/2026
If your shoulders feel stiff before upper body training — or tight after a long day at your desk — this is the exercise that fixes it.
In our video, I walk Glen through the quadruped scapula retraction and protraction, Video 2 of 6 in our shoulder mobility series at Function Thru Fitness in Green Bay, WI. On hands, feet, and knees. Core braced, back flat. Let the chest sink toward the floor with straight arms, then push away from the floor using only the muscles around the shoulder blades — pushing that point in the spine toward the ceiling.
Two cues that make it work: no shrugging throughout, and abs tight on the way down so the lower back stays neutral. Both keep the shoulder blades doing the work they are designed to do.
This is shoulder exercises range of motion that directly addresses what prolonged sitting does to the shoulder girdle — and what needs to happen before upper body training to set the shoulder blades properly.
Book with Ben Ash at www.ftfpt.com/ben