How to Increase Shoulder Stability

The shoulder joint is considered a ball-and-socket joint; however, the "socket" portion is not very deep to provide much stability to the shoulder. The shoulder is built more for mobility and not so much for stability. So in order to make the shoulder more stable, you need to strengthen the muscles surrounding the shoulder joint. The stronger the muscles are that hold the shoulder in place, the more stable the joint will be.

Things You'll Need

  • Resistance bands
  • Free weights
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Instructions

    • 1

      Have your shoulders checked by a doctor before beginning any type of new workout. This will make sure you don't have any pre-existing condition that would hamper your workout, or a condition that would be worsened by any type of shoulder-strengthening exercise.

    • 2

      Start exercising with resistance bands or very light weights. The resistance bands will help you control and maintain your form while giving your muscles a bit of a workout. Until your muscles are strengthened, you risk damaging the shoulder muscles by using free weights, since the movement is not as controlled as it is when using resistance bands.

    • 3

      Check your form. Make sure you are doing all shoulder-strengthening exercises properly, and are not moving in a way that could cause more damage to the shoulder joint. When you are just starting to strengthen the shoulder joint, try to keep the arm below 90 degrees from the shoulder. This will keep you from causing additional or unnecessary stress to the shoulder joint.

    • 4

      Work out opposing muscles one after the other. If you are doing an exercise to strengthen the abductors of the shoulder, you also need to do an exercise to strengthen the adductors of the shoulder. This will ensure that all muscle groups that surround the shoulder are getting a good and even workout.

    • 5

      Stretch your shoulder muscles gently before and after a workout. Make sure the muscles are warmed up and mobile before lifting any weights, and stretch out the muscles during the "cool-down" phase of your workout to keep them from cramping later on.