Guest Post: Anterior Humeral Glide

Ryan Wood has been given the green light to go hog-wild on a post for this week. Below is what he came up with... be warned, it's good - real good. Ryan may just find himself a regular weekly contributor soon: I’ve noticed a growing trend amongst gym goers that is possibly more annoying to look at than guys wearing skinny jeans. That trend is what’s called Anterior Humeral Glide (AHG).  AHG, for simplicity’s sake, is the excessive forward glide of the humeral head during a wide variety of exercises but especially during vertical and horizontal pulls.  You can see the problem clearly on exercises like a double or single arm horizontal row. Below is a video of a double arm band row performed incorrectly with AHG present.

Incorrect Row with AHG.  Notice the head of the humerus moving anteriorly.  This is due to an inability to properly retract the scapulae.

There are a number of problems as to why AHG during an exercise is not a good thing, but the two biggest ones are: 1. You’re flat out going to tear up your shoulder over time; welcome to impingement city.  2. You are in no way, shape, or form getting any benefit out of the exercise.  The whole point in doing a row variation is to strengthen the upper back, most notably the scapular retractors (rhomboids and mid/lower trapezius) which you totally miss when you fail to properly perform the exercise.

So how do we address the problem in order to help out the athlete/client?  First, check out the video below to see what a correct row looks like without AHG present.   Correct Row with Proper Form.  Notice in the performance of the row that the head of my humerus does not glide forward.  The retraction of the scapulae causes the humerus to align correctly.

  Believe it or not some individuals just might not be ready for an actual row; they need a progression.  If you find yourself faced with an athlete in this situation, it would be wise to fill their program with exercises that focus solely on the scapular retractors. This will force them to be aware of how to use them effectively.  You can saturate their program with this work early on in the session or hammer the movements in their warm-ups… either way, just keep in mind that for someone who has difficulty with scapular retraction, this is hard work! So, let them be fresh and able to concentrate while they work on the form (just like you would make sure an advanced athlete performs the compound lifts at the beginning of a session).   Three exercises that can be used to teach scapular retraction:Banded Scapular Retraction

Prone I’s

Band Pullaparts

  Coaching cues are a must when a row (or any exercise, really) is involved.  If the athlete is not coached in the right way they can not be expected to perform the movement correctly.  Here a few coaching cues to ensure retraction.

        • Place your finger between the scapulae and tell them to pinch your finger

        • Have them imagine pinching a pencil in between the shoulder blade as they retract

       • A favorite of Coach Romo’s is to ask them how they would walk on the beach, and then proceed to tell them to stick their chest out!

       • The best one of all in my opinion is for you to physical direct their humerus back as they are doing a retraction exercise or a row.  Over time they will become aware of what it feels like to retract their scapulae

An exercise is only useful if performed correctly.  Retract away my friends!

W, T, Y, and I your way to a stronger serve, pitch, or bench press…

Initially, the vast majority of our clientele exhibit less than optimal upper-back strength/stability, and a drastic imbalance between the upper traps and mid/low traps (the upper traps proving to be dominant in this relationship). Considering a large portion of our clientele are overhead athletes, the scenario above provides a perfect recipe for shoulder dysfunction. Desk jockeys and bench press “specialists,” keep reading because you can benefit from the information below as well. One of the many drills we incorporate into our clienteles programming to increase strength and reduce asymmetries in the stabilizing muscles surrounding the shoulder blades is W, T, Y, and I. The clip below was taken from our online database of exercises that we use to coach our distance coaching clientele. Without further ado, I give you the W, T, Y, and I drill:

The drill’s benefit lies in the execution of the movement (what else is new, right?). A couple important coaching cues to note are as follows:

-Perform these drills on a flat-solid surface where one is parallel to the ground. This will ensure the delts and upper traps don’t take over the movement. My preferred surfaces are a bench, or treatment table. You’ll see these drills sometimes performed on stability balls or other unstable surfaces. I’d advise not doing them on these surfaces as it’ll detract from force output and subsequently the conditioning of the upper-back musculature.

-Avoid hyperextension of the lumbar spine (lower back) as this will again limit the effectiveness of the drill.

-Be sure to squeeze the middle of the back (lower and mid trap activation!) when performing these movements. If you feel like you’re shrugging to raise the arms, that’s a sign your upper traps are taking over and you’re now just compounding problems…

-If you’re having a difficult time performing them bilaterally (both arms simultaneously), try performing them one arm at a time.

-Try to relax the neck as much as possible; stare at the ground NOT the wall in front of you.

If you’re an overhead athlete it’s imperative that you address your upper-back through drills such as these. Honestly, your pitching career probably depends on it.

For our bench press “specialists” in the crowd, if you think addressing the retractors and depressors is a waste of your time, enjoy benching 185 the rest of your life…if you’re lucky enough to bench the rest of your life.

And for the desk jockey whose neck and shoulders kill him after a day at work, or weekend golf/tennis match, come see SAPT and we’ll get you right.

To improve your fastball, serve, bench press or just quality of life, give me a clicksee right HERE…

A pocket full of M80’s and Roman Candles…who’s coming with me…

Chris AKA Romo AKA "Put your dishes in the dishwasher, please"