Is It Time to Strengthen Your Serratus?

Do you struggle to avoid feeling your neck or shoulders in planks, side planks, or push-ups? Do you complain of wrist pain, or notice that your elbows tend to hyperextend? Do you have rib flare that’s affecting the healing of your diastasis?

Well, it might be time to explore some isolated serratus strengthening exercises!

You may have done scapular push-ups to try to strengthen your serratus, but are you actually using this movement to its full capacity? Oftentimes, the pec minor will take over for protraction of the scapula. This can contribute to a scapula that’s pulled forward and down over the rib cage, affecting the position of our shoulder and neck.

In this exercise, you’ll work on inhibiting the pec minor to really call out the serratus. At first, it might feel like “Jedi mind tricks” as you highlight how much the pec wants to take over, but keep at it! The foundation you lay here will go a long way. Then, just make sure you keep the momentum going by progressively adding more weight, particularly if you’d like to be able to tolerate your serratus holding up your body weight.

Did you know I teach online:
Online Continuing Education for Fitness and Health Professionals
PCES - Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist
www.coreexercisesolutions.com/postpartum-corrective-exercise-specialist/