Shoulder Rolls | Illustrated Exercise Guide (2024)

Primary muscles: Shoulders
Secondary muscles: Chest, upper back
Equipment: No equipment

Shoulder Rolls Instructions

1. Stand straight with your arms by your sides and with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Slowly rotate your shoulders forward, making big circles.
3. Repeat the movement backward until the set is complete.

Proper Form And Breathing Pattern

Maintain your body relaxed and start with small circles. Breathe deeply and keep the movement smooth and continuous. With every breath, increase the circles’ diameter until you move fluidly through your full range of motion.

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Exercise Benefits

Shoulder rolls are the perfect exercise for removing accumulated stress and tension in the shoulders and improving the circulation in those joints. This exercise warms up and stretches the muscles, tendons, and joints and helps reduce pain and stiffness in the shoulder area.

Shoulder Rolls Demonstration

Sets And Reps

Shoulder rolls can be particularly beneficial right before an upper body workout. The improvement in shoulder flexibility is very helpful when you’re trying to achieve proper exercise form. Start slowly and do a set of 30-second circles in each direction.

Calories Burned

To calculate the number of calories burned doing the shoulder rolls exercise, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

Related Dynamic Stretches

Try these other dynamic stretches to improve joint range of motion and increase your flexibility:
Lateral leg swings
Wrist circles
Bent over twist
Ankle circles