If you haven’t dealt with shoulder pain at some point in your BJJ career then I don’t think you’re training enough.
The shoulder is an amazing ball-in-socket joint, with the most range of motion in the entire body.
But it’s also very prone to pain and injury, especially in a combat sport like jiu-jitsu.
Nearly every movement you do on the mat demands something from the shoulder – gripping, framing, posting, pulling, pushing.
Not to mention the abuse they take from Americanas, Kimuras, Omoplatas, and arm locks.
When I was a white belt, shoulder pain was my first BJJ “injury.” In fact, I got injections in both just so I could compete in my first tournament.
But over the last 13 years I’ve managed to remain relatively pain free with these best shoulder exercises for jiu-jitsu.
One Arm Scap Push Ups
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Scapular Push Ups are an excellent exercise for building the serratus anterior, a highly important muscle for optimal shoulder function.
When you add the one arm version, you crank the benefits up even more and remove any strength asymmetries between sides.
The serratus anterior’s job is to keep the shoulder blades flush against the rib cage of the upper back. Often, if the serratus is weak you can experience scapular winging.
Strengthening it will help optimize movement and position of the scapula, leading to better shoulder mobility.
One Arm Scap Push Ups strengthen the serratus, as well as the lat, anterior delt, and other important stabilizing muscles of the shoulder, yielding more resilient and mobile shoulders.
I do these before every training session to activate the shoulder stabilizers for action.
The Turkish Get Up
The Get Up offers a list of benefits for the grappler, however, shoulder health in the form of stability, mobility, and resilience has to be at the top of the list.
Because you are forced to stabilize a weight overhead while the rest of your body transitions to new positions, your shoulder builds tremendous isometric stability and endurance.
Get Ups are meant to be done slowly, which really emphasizes the time under tension principle, building very functional mat strength and ability.
Get Ups forge the exact type of shoulder strength you need for unwavering frames and years of shoulder attacks.
Try the “Bottoms Up” version for even more of a challenge.
Shield Cast
The Shield Cast is a movement humans have been doing for thousands of years, and strengthens and mobilized the shoulders in 360 degrees. That’s why its sometimes even called the 360.
As mentioned, the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body, which means it needs to be strong in all ranges of motion.
The Shield Cast not only strengthens and mobilizes the shoulders simultaneously, it does the same for the rib cage and thoracic spine.
It’s important to understand that if your rib cage is restricted, often, your shoulder mobility will be too.
That’s why the Shield Cast is such a high-yield move. It mobilizes the ribs, spine, and shoulders while fortifying them in the process.
Plus, you can continue to load it with heavier weights for continued gains year after year.
Some try to mimic the effect of the Shield Cast with the kettlebell Halo, but there are no substitutes for the full 360 with a club or mace.
You should do a few Shield Casts every day for the rest of your life.
(Learn the Shield Cast for free here.)
Kettlebell Armbar
I picked up the Kettlebell Armbar back in 2012 while getting Russian Kettlebell Certified. This one instantly clicked, as I was a 2nd year blue belt and anything related to armbars immediately had my attention.
The KB Armbar is essentially an isometric exercise that challenges shoulder stability and endurance. It has a unique way of activating all of the tiny stabilizer muscles of the shoulder joint without demanding much from the user.
You simply lay on your side and maintain a kettlebell above with a locked out arm. Just the act of holding the KB in place is all you need to elicit the response we’re looking for.
Accumulating time and load in this position will do wonders for your shoulder resilience.
(The Armbar is included as a free bonus in the Grapplers Get Up program.)
Club Shoulder Spiral
The Shoulder Spiral is the newest one in my arsenal, taught to me by Elite Special Forces Coach, Alberto Gallazzi.
Essentially, you are spiraling a clubbell around your head with your shoulder in a somewhat compromised position. It almost feels like an America, which is why you must start very light and go slowly.
This is one of those movements where you are testing the end ranges of your shoulder mobility, getting right to the edge, but improving it with each rep.
What I like about this one is how it challenges your tendons and ligaments, along with range of motion.
If you can work up to a moderate sized club, maybe 20lbs, I don’t think you’ll have much problem with shoulder locks in your future.
How To Program These Movements
Shoulder health is an ongoing project that needs to be maintained weekly, if not daily.
I sprinkle a few of these exercises in each week, sometimes in my warmup or in the workout itself.
Here are a few examples:
BJJ Warm Up
10/s One Arm Scap Push Ups
5/s External Shoulder Spirals
5/s Internal Shoulder Spirals
10/s Shield Cast
x2
Weightlifting Warm Up
5/s Bottoms Up Turkish Sit Up
45sec/s KB Armbar
10/s Shield Cast
x3
Strength Session
1/s Turkish Get Ups (72lb KB)
x5
5/s Shield Casts (40lb Club)
x5
As a grappler, shoulder health and resilience should be a priority. The shoulder joint is constantly at work while grappling – defending, attacking, and being attacked itself.
The moves above are your insurance policy for a lifetime of resilient, pain-free shoulders for BJJ.
