{"id":63961,"date":"2017-12-14T07:15:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T12:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=63961"},"modified":"2017-12-18T09:47:39","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T14:47:39","slug":"shoulder-exercises-serratus-anterior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/shoulder-exercises-serratus-anterior\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Shoulder Muscle You\u2019re Neglecting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"3
Photo: Ryan Kelly \/ Daily Burn 365<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you do shoulder or back exercises<\/a>, chances are you\u2019ll engage your rhomboids, traps and delts. But one crucial shoulder muscle you should also be working is your serratus anterior. \u201cIt gets its name from its serrated shape, like a knife blade, as it attaches to the ribs, and is anterior (forward to) the shoulder blade,\u201d says Phoenix Carnevale, Daily Burn 365<\/a> trainer and martial artist.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Get Sculpted Shoulders with These 5 Moves<\/a><\/p>\n

As the most flexible joint in your body, your shoulders rely on the serratus anterior for upward rotation of the arms and protracting the scapula. Think: front raises, chest presses, rowing or doing a push-up. \u201cThe serratus anterior anchors and stabilizes the shoulder blade, aiding in an open chest and lifted posture<\/a>,\u201d Carnevale explains. \u201cThe serratus anterior is also occasionally called the \u2018boxer\u2019s muscle\u2019 because it assist in the action of punching.\u201d So if you want to put more power behind your jabs and crosses<\/a>, strengthening your serratus anterior is key.<\/p>\n

The catch? Because the serratus anterior is located on the underside of the shoulder blade near the inner ribs, it\u2019s hard to target and is often a neglected muscle. \u201cWhen the serratus anterior muscles are weak, they contribute to neck problems<\/a>, rotator cuff issues and scapular winging (damage to the long thoracic nerve of the shoulder),\u201d Carnevale says.<\/p>\n

Here are three moves to help you improve your serratus anterior strength.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>5 Yoga-Inspired Shoulder Openers<\/a><\/p>\n

3 Shoulder Exercises to Strengthen Your Serratus Anterior<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve got your back (and your shoulders, too). Try these three shoulder exercises from Carnevale that target the\u00a0serratus anterior. Perform eight to 10 reps each.<\/p>\n

\"Shoulder
GIF: Daily Burn 365<\/a><\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Serratus Push-Up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You won\u2019t feel like you\u2019ve moved much with this shoulder exercise, but you should feel a retraction of your \u201cwings,\u201d Carnevale says.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Get into a push-up position with your hands directly under your shoulders (a)<\/strong>. Lower your body between your shoulders without bending your elbows. Keep your elbows soft as you slide your shoulder blades back (b)<\/strong>. Bring your shoulder blades forward and then squeeze them together as you engage your core and push away from the ground.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Got Shoulder Pain? 5 Exercise Modifications That Can Help<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Wall Angels<\/h3>\n

The key part of this exercise is to keep your hands against the wall. If your hands aren\u2019t able to touch the wall, don\u2019t force it. But some common mistakes you want to avoid are bringing the chest forward or extending the lower back<\/a> off the wall.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Stand with your back against a wall with your arms in cactus position at head height (a)<\/strong>. Slide your arms upward with your shoulders down. Start with your thumbs touching the wall, and your elbows pressed as far back as you can reach (b)<\/strong>. Lower your arms back to head height, while keeping your back against the wall.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Sculpt a Stronger Back with These 5 Moves<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Accordion Breathing<\/h3>\n

People with asthma or breathing issues experience problems with the serratus anterior, Carnevale says. This breathing technique<\/a> helps you engage your serratus anterior for a more effective workout.<\/p>\n

How to: <\/strong>Place your hands on each side of your rib cage and breath in by pulling your shoulder blades out, and then back and down.<\/p>\n

Read More
\n<\/strong>5 No-Equipment Back Exercises You Need in Your Life
\n<\/a>5 Advanced Push-Up Exercises to Try Now<\/a>
\n10 Upper-Body Exercises to Master the Perfect Pull-Up<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want more power behind your punch? Try these shoulder exercises to strengthen your serratus anterior, a key muscle for upper-body strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":63969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6,14],"tags":[289,281,341,343,100],"class_list":["post-63961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","category-strength-training","tag-exercise","tag-strength-training","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}