Seated Shoulder Blade Clock

How to do it

1. Sit upright in your chair with your feet flat on the floor and your arms relaxed at your sides.
2. Engage your core and begin moving your shoulder blades in a slow circular motion, as if tracing the face of a clock.
3. Move both shoulder blades upward toward 12 o'clock, then out to 3 o'clock, down to 6 o'clock, and back through 9 o'clock.
4. Complete the full circular motion slowly and with control, feeling the muscles around your shoulder blades engage throughout.
5. Reverse the direction and repeat the clock movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Form cues

• ✓Sit tall with your spine neutral
• ✓Keep your arms relaxed at your sides
• ✓Imagine your shoulder blades are hands on a clock
• ✓Move slowly to feel the muscles work
• ✓Maintain steady breathing throughout

Breathing: Inhale as you move the blades upward and exhale as you guide them down and around.

Common mistakes

• ✗Shrugging your shoulders toward your ears, which creates unnecessary neck tension
• ✗Moving too quickly, which prevents you from feeling the full range of motion
• ✗Holding your breath, which can increase physical tension instead of releasing it
• ✗Rounding your lower back, which shifts the focus away from your shoulder blades

Muscles worked

Primary: rhomboids. Secondary: traps, delts.

Suggested sets & reps

Frequently asked questions

Learn the fundamentals

• Lesson 19Mobility, Stretching, and Corrective Movement
• Lesson 23Stress, Eating Behavior, and Body Health

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