Good Day Everyone!
So you think you have good posture?
If you really have good posture, then you should be able to complete this move no problem.
the DOWEL DISLOCATE
You might ask, “how does a shoulder mobility drill tell you anything about posture?”
Well consider this, what do the shoulder blades sit on top of and attached to?
The answer is the Thorax (rib cage and spine).
Now if your thorax is slightly flexed or hunched over – which is common when sitting all day, the way the shoulder blades sit on the thorax will also change, or denature.
Furthermore,
‘Good Posture’ is predicated on ‘good’ breathing and ‘good’ abdominal/Trunk stabilizers (replace ‘good’ with ‘ideal’ or ‘appropriate’)
With appropriate abdominal wall and diaphragm activation, all the joints in your body will be more stabilized than they would be without it – if you are the type of person, like me, who cares about movement efficiency, you must dedicate a little time every day to the practice of respiratory control with and without abdominal tension .
the shoulder dislocate is a common movement prep exercise and can even be used as an assessment of shoulder control / function. As you will see it can also be used as an assessment for one’s posture.
Back to the dislocates,
Go and grab any straight stick that is only a couple ounces
stand with your feet together and grab the ends of the stick with a prone grip
while keeping arms straight and shoulders down, bring the dowel overhead and behind your back so the dowel is touching your butt like so:
Try to complete this exercise without the following compensations:
- cervical / chin thrust
- Thoracic flexion / looking down
- Lumbar / low back extension
- clicking, crunching or any other unnatural sound coming from your joints
- the key to this is Grip tension and the reflex arch of stabilization it triggers
VS. 
The tighter the Grip, the more stable the system
If you are able to avoid these compensations – or at least counter-compensate – Then you have Good/Ideal/Appropriate posture.
This is because the relationship between shoulder mobility and the position of your spine go hand in hand.
You can only do this movement if you maintain trunk position because you need a base of support on which the shoulder blades can move.
Think you can Dislocate?
trying it again but this time while walking….
Next try Single Leg Dislocates or Marching Dislocates.
Still easy? – use an elastic band and add some tension.
Trying all possible variations with increase our movement competency or ability.
Further considerations include;
- Am I level? is the dowel level – are my shoulders level?
- Am I straight? are my arms and legs locked out – Spine remains neutral.
- Am I using enough tension in: Glutes/Legs, Abs, Lats and Grip (suggestion: activate body in this exact sequence)
- Useful Cue: imagine expanding through the elbow OR reaching/’pushing’ – trying to keep the dowel as far away from the shoulder as possible, i.e. with tension.
You are now ready for a heavy training session
Test the dislocate throughout the training session to check and see if there are any adaptive posture changes after certain movements.
Feed back? let me hear it in the comments or email me : colangelo.mart@gmail.com
All the best on your path to success