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Cleopatra / Dumb Waiter Standing Shoulder Warm-Up

BeginnerMobilityTier T1

Stand tall with your elbows bent to 90 degrees and palms up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and rotate your arms out to the sides, pause, then float your arms up. You may feel a gentle stretch across your chest.

Targets: Shoulder

Stop if

Choose an easier exercise if pain reaches 6 out of 10 or becomes sharp. Stop and rest if pain reaches 8 out of 10.

This is the general ClapMove rule. This exercise has no extra stop rule of its own.

  • Pain 6 out of 10 or more: choose an easier exercise.
  • Pain 8 out of 10 or more: stop and rest.

Equipment needed

  • Works at home
  • Works at the gym

none

Home Options

  • bodyweight

Dosage

2

Sets

10

Reps / Time

30 sec

Rest

controlled

Tempo

Step-by-Step Guide

Set up

  • Stand in the neutral posture: feet hip-width apart, weight evenly distributed through the heels and toes, knees soft, pelvic neutral, ribs soft, shoulder blades sliding toward the back pockets, and the head lifted tall.
  • Cleopatra (the squeeze-and-rotate) progresses directly into Dumb Waiter (the float and palm-turn).
  1. A man standing tall with both elbows bent to a right angle close to his sides, forearms pointing forward, palms turned up.

    Step 1 of 5

    Stand tall in your neutral posture with your weight even through your heels and toes. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and turn your palms to face upward.

  2. The same man with his shoulder blades squeezed together, both forearms rotated outward to the sides while his elbows stay bent and close to his ribs.

    Step 2 of 5

    Gently squeeze your shoulder blades together and rotate your arms out to the side. Pause briefly at the end of the movement.

  3. The same man with both arms straight and held out to either side at shoulder height, palms facing upward.

    Step 3 of 5

    Float your arms up, straightening your elbows at the same time, until they are level with your shoulders. Keep the length between your shoulders and your ears.

  4. The same man with both arms still straight out to the sides at shoulder height, but both palms now turned to face the floor.

    Step 4 of 5

    Turn your palms to the floor as if dropping plates.

  5. A man standing tall with both elbows bent to a right angle close to his sides, forearms pointing forward, palms turned up.

    Step 5 of 5

    Stand tall in your neutral posture with your weight even through your heels and toes. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and turn your palms to face upward.

What you should feel

When rotating the arms out to the side, you may feel a gentle stretch across your chest.

Breathing

  • Breathe with the ribs, not the upper chest: hands on the lower ribs would feel expansion on the in-breath like an umbrella opening. Try not to hold your breath or brace.

Safety Information

Keep a gentle squeeze of the shoulder blades and a gentle stretch across your chest, never a forced or maximal range. Keep the shoulders down, away from the ears, through the float and the palm-turn phases. Use the neutral posture. Keep soft knees (neither straight and braced nor bent), soft ribs that are not flared, and try not to hold your breath or brace. Keep a soft, unbraced ribcage throughout. Stop if the exercise causes pain or you become unwell. Seek appropriate professional advice about symptoms or suitability.

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Printed from clapmove.com. ClapMove is not a replacement for professional medical advice — always consult a healthcare provider before starting any exercise program.