The infraspinatus is one of the four muscles of your rotator cuff. If this muscle becomes weak, it can lead to shoulder pain and impingement. Strengthening the infraspinatus with certain exercises can help prevent this problem.
The lateral (side) raises
To begin, stand in a standing position with your arms at your sides. Raise both arms to the sides until they are parallel with the floor, making sure not to lift them higher than shoulder height. Hold this position for several seconds before lowering back down and repeating on each side ten times.
-To perform the biceps curl, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and grasp a dumbbell in each hand. Lift both weights to your sides until they are parallel with your shoulders, making sure not to lift them higher than shoulder height. Hold this position for several seconds before lowering back down and repeating ten times on each side.
YTWLs with dumbbells
In this exercise, you'll be doing the YTWLs with dumbbells. The YTWL stands for "Y-shape," "T-shape," "W-shape," and "L-shape."
This exercise aims to strengthen your infraspinatus muscles by working them through a full range of motion.
To do the YTWLs with dumbbells, take a shoulder-width stance and hold two dumbbells in front of your body at arm's length. Place one hand on top of the other and twist them as far as you can to the left without moving your upper arms.
Reverse flyes
To perform reverse flies:
- Use dumbbells and hold them in front of your chest with your arms bent at the elbow.
- Maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout this exercise.
- Move the weight out and in by rotating your arms out (to the side) and back in (to the center), keeping a slight bend in each rep.
Lower to starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions
Face pulls
Face pulls are a great exercise for the infraspinatus muscle. They're an isolation movement, meaning you'll be working on just one muscle at a time, which is important when strengthening your infraspinatus.
You'll need something to hold onto to do face pulls: an elastic band or rope is ideal, but you could also use a cable machine if you can access one. You can also try using dumbbells if they're available in your gym's free weight area (but make sure only some people want them before taking them).
Face pulls work best when performed with either an overhand or underhand grip; whichever feels most comfortable will depend on what works best for an individual's physiology and biomechanics.
Strengthen the muscles that stabilize the shoulder joint.
The infraspinatus muscle helps to stabilize the shoulder joint. It's one of four rotator cuff muscles that support and keep your shoulder stable as you move. The other three rotator cuff muscles are:
- Supraspinatus (the most superficial)
- Teres Minor (the smallest)
- Subscapularis (the deepest).
The supraspinatus is located on the front of your shoulder and helps to rotate your arm inward. It's the most superficial muscle in the rotator cuff group, so it's the easiest to feel when you touch your shoulder blade.
Strengthen your infraspinatus muscles to lower the risk of shoulder impingement.
The infraspinatus muscles are responsible for shoulder stability. They are weak in many people, which can lead to shoulder impingement.
Shoulder impingement is a common shoulder injury when the tendons and ligaments that support your rotator cuff rub against the walls of the joint space (the space between bones) or get pinched between them. This can result in pain, inflammation, and decreased range of motion--and it may require surgery if left untreated over time.
Infraspinatus muscle weakness is often responsible for shoulder impingement because it reduces your ability to keep your humerus centered within its socket during movements like throwing a baseball or swinging an ax at a wood-cutting day at camp!
Do this exercise to strengthen your infraspinatus muscles.
- Hold a dumbbell or resistance band in both hands.
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and core engaged.
- Raise your arms above your head so they are parallel to the floor and palms facing each other. The elbows should be bent at 90 degrees and pointed outward from the body (like an airplane).
- Slowly lower down until arms are parallel to the floor again (but don't let them touch), keeping shoulders back while squeezing those infraspinatus muscles!
Stand with your left arm hanging by your side and bent at a 90-degree angle.
Keep your elbow at a 90-degree angle, and don't let it bend more than that.
Ensure that the back of your hand faces forward (toward the ground), not down or up toward the sky. This will help keep tension on the infraspinatus muscles in their proper place.
The next step is to raise the dumbbells up and down, keeping them parallel to the floor. You can use a slow or fast tempo for this movement, but ensure you use good form throughout.
Lift the bent arm straight before you until it is parallel to the floor.
- Lift the bent arm straight before you until it is parallel to the floor.
- Keep your elbow straight, and raise it so your forearm points toward the ceiling. This forms an L-shape with your upper arm and forearm, which should be perpendicular to each other.
- Don't move or rotate either shoulder; keep them still as they were when they started this exercise (that means no twisting or turning).
- Do not move or rotate either elbow; keep it in place as well as you can while continuing with these instructions:
Conclusion
The infraspinatus muscle is small but important in the shoulder. It's located at the back of your upper arm, between the spine and shoulder blade. The infraspinatus helps stabilize your shoulder joint when lifting objects from an upright position and rotates your arm inward toward the body when reaching forward with one hand (called internal rotation). If you have weak or injured shoulders, exercises that target these muscles can help strengthen them so they don't strain again too soon!
