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Exercises for serratus anterior are meant to train a small but powerful muscle that is responsible for keeping the posture stable and promoting healthy breathing.
Serratus anterior, also called the "big swing muscle" or the "boxer's muscle," is an important muscle that ensures healthy shoulder motion. This muscle is crucial for a wide variety of actions involving the upper limb, including both open and closed-chain actions (such as punching or grabbing an object from a cabinet, pushups, planks, downward dogs, or handstands).
Furthermore, the serratus anterior is well-known for its role in preventing scapular winging, which occurs when the shoulder blade moves abnormally away from the thorax as the arm is raised. To better activate and control this crucial scapular stabilizer, this article will show you the best exercises for serratus anterior muscle that you can do.
Exercises for Serratus Anterior
Check out the following serratus exercises that you can include in your workout routine.
1) Wall Slides
If you want to improve your shoulder and core strength but can't engage in more strenuous exercises, try using a wall slide instead. This is one of the best beginner-level exercises for the serratus anterior muscle.
Instructions:
- Stand facing away from the wall, feet together, and about ten inches to one foot from the wall in order to prepare for the movement.
- Then, with your feet still in front of you, lean back until your back touches the wall. Bend your knees ever-so-slightly.
- Keep your whole back in contact with the wall, from the hips up. Simply raise your arms to the wall, and bend at the elbow to perform the exercise.
- The next step is to slowly raise both arms overhead while keeping them straight.
- Keep your arms and back touching the wall for as long as you can.
- Perform this action repeatedly while paying attention to your form and the way your muscles respond.
2) Ab Rollouts
This serratus anterior workout emphasizes eccentric (or lowering) strength to build up the serratus through protraction and upward rotation of the scapula in the stretched position. Among exercises for serratus anterior, this one also works well to enhance core stability and activate dormant muscle fibers.
Instructions:
- You should get down on your knees and hold whatever tool (barbell or dumbbell) you're using with your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Open your hips toward the ground and lean forward, sinking your chest toward the floor without rounding your lower back.
- If you're a beginner, it's best to limit your range of motion (ROM) until you get the hang of the exercise.
- Contract your lats and slowly return to the starting position.
3) Scapula Push Up
This is a variant of the classic push-up that requires you to move only your shoulder blades. Out of all the exercises for serratus anterior muscle, this is the closest thing to an isolation move as it targets the area between the shoulder blades.
Instructions:
- In a fetal position, with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, you must crawl.
- Maintain a neutral spine by standing tall on your toes and hands and activating your glutes.
- Keep your arms at your sides and your chest down as you squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Minimize your motion to no more than an inch.
- Once your chest reaches its limit, separate your shoulder blades to help you get back up.
4) High Bear Crawl
Bear crawls are not only an excellent pre-workout stretching and conditioning routine, but also work as one of the best exercises for serratus anterior. High bear crawls are one of the best exercises for serratus anterior, requiring you to protract your scapula so that the serratus gets some serious time under tension, which strengthens and increases endurance in the arms, shoulders, and chest.
Instructions:
- It's best to get down on all fours with your knees bent and your arms by your sides, keeping your eyes up and your spine neutral.
- Continue in this manner, alternating sides for each rep, moving one hand and the opposite foot forward an equal distance while keeping your back straight.
5) Dumbbell Pullovers
Dumbbell pullovers are one of the best exercises for serratus anterior muscle. The scapula is stabilized by the rhomboids and middle trapezius being worked, and the serratus anterior is the intended target of this exercise.
Instructions:
- Maintain a flat back and straight arms while holding a pair of dumbbells (or a barbell) at chest level in front of you.
- Drop both dumbbells behind your back as you exhale, then bring them back up as you inhale to restore full arm extension.
- To complete 8-12 repetitions, you must continue with the movements.
Along with exercises for serratus anterior, you must also perform serratus anterior stretches. This will help warm up the muscle and prevent injury. Although the serratus anterior is a notoriously challenging muscle to train, the aforementioned moves can help you achieve the results you seek.
All of these techniques are highly effective because they concentrate on strengthening areas of the body that are often overlooked. Inverted rows are an excellent example of a bodyweight exercise that targets not only the arms and shoulders, but also the core muscles used for stabilization.
