TKU Strength provides information on how to improve your physical capacity for goalkeeping performance, to reduce injury risk, and for general health and wellbeing. The information in this blog comes from my own experiences over many years of strength training in a professional environment, and also from my university studies in exercise physiology. For any medical concerns, please consult your doctor or physical therapist.
WHY SHOULD I DO SHOULDER PRE-ACTIVATION?
It was not surprising to find that a study conducted by orthopedic doctors at the Federal University of Sao Paolo (in conjunction with Santos FC) found that goalkeepers have a high risk of shoulder injuries. When we dive onto the ground, collide with other players, and even when we catch and throw the ball, there are many intense forces that impact our shoulder joint which, over time or in an instant, can damage the muscles, ligaments, and articular material. The scientific article can be found at the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4984832/#!po=1.92308
The shoulder joint is already one of the most unstable joints in the body. This is because it is a shallow, 'ball and socket joint', basically, imagine a golf ball sitting on top of a golf tee. This illustrates how your arm is connected to the rest of your body at the shoulder. To hold this ball and socket together, the shoulder joint relies mostly on the shoulder cuff muscles, which wrap around the joint, strapping the ball into the socket. Intense shoulder activity while goalkeeping places a lot of stress on these muscles, and if they are weak or not warmed up properly then the risk of injury is high.
Shoulder pre-activation exercises help to warm-up and activate these shoulder cuff muscles, strengthens them over time, increasing shoulder stability and thus reducing the risk of injury. Furthermore, they are a good way to recover and return to play with confidence if you have already suffered a shoulder injury. This is why I often do shoulder pre-activation before goalkeeper training, a gym session, or before I go surfing.
HOW DO I DO SHOULDER PRE-ACTIVATION?
First of all you'll need to purchase a thin, light, elastic resistance-band. They are very cheap, durable, and can be found at your local sports store or online. They come in a number of brands and colours, but I always find blue or red to have just the right amount of tension, while most brands tend to provide a similar level of quality.
Once you have your elastic resistance-band, we have provided a very simple, 5-minute, shoulder pre-activation routine, demonstrated in the images below or by clicking the following link to a video on our instagram:
The routine can be done 2-3 times a week, and is great for a warm-up primer before training, matches, gym sessions, or any other activity that involves upper body effort. Enjoy!
