Though I think the biggest way to keep shoulders healthy is through smart programming, like performing a lot of upper body pulling or shoulder friendly pressing, there are still a lot of small different things you can do (or not do) that will go a long way in keeping shoulders functioning properly and staying healthy.

1. Crawling — crawling is one of the most underrated shoulder health “exercises” out there. Add them as fillers between sets of compound movements, in the warm up, or anywhere else.
2. Med Balls — though most people look at med ball work as a way to train power in various planes, a lot of med ball work can reach the shoulder to decelerate properly.
3. Staying Out of Anterior Glide Syndrome — not allowing the shoulder to slide forward in the socket when rowing or pressing is rarely thought of, but continually allowing the shoulder to do so will slowly add some wear and tear that could easily be avoided…not a huge deal here and there, but over and over again is essentially death by papercut.
4. Loaded Carries — great for core work, but also great for grip strength and shoulders stability.
5. Shoulder Stability — a lot of our core work is performed in the push up position, whether it be push up taps, plank rows, or kettlebell drags, all of which train core stability as well as shoulder stability…great way to kill two birds with one stone.

If you are looking for more information on shoulder health, check out my Shoulder Health for Volleyball book!