Banded Shoulder Circles
Stand on the middle of a resistance band and hold one end beside each hip. Your arms hang straight down and the band draws them gently towards the floor. From there, circle your shoulders: up, back, down and forwards. After 15 to 20 circles, change direction. Your head will tend to drift forwards — keep drawing yourself back into an upright posture.
Banded shoulder circles take the shoulder girdle through a full circle against a light pull: up, back, down and forward. The band under your feet draws the shoulders down, and that is the pull you work against.
This is more than an arm movement. In any larger shoulder movement the collarbone and the shoulder blade turn with it — those are the parts you are moving here, while the arms hang passively. The movement comes from the shoulder girdle, not from the elbows.
You need one long resistance band. How low you grip it decides how much pull arrives.
From practice: I use this in the warm-up and as a short break on desk days. Your head drifts forward by itself — so every few circles, draw yourself tall again. If your neck is chronically tight, you will feel the shoulders tense up first and loosen afterwards. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
Lay a long resistance band on the floor and stand on the middle of it, feet about hip-width apart. Take one end in each hand and let your arms hang straight beside your hips. The band should be light enough that it only draws your shoulders gently downwards.
Now circle your shoulders against that pull: up towards your ears, back and together, down away from your ears, and forwards. Your arms stay passive and straight — the movement comes from the shoulder girdle, not from the elbows.
After 15 to 20 circles, change direction. If the pull gets too light, take hold of the band a little lower down. Watch your head as you go: it drifts forwards without you noticing. Draw yourself tall again from time to time, sternum lifted a touch.
The three cues
- Stand on the middle of the band, one end per hand, arms hanging straight
- The movement comes from the shoulder girdle — arms and elbows stay passive
- Make the circles big: up, back, down, forwards
- Change direction after 15 to 20 circles
- Draw yourself back into an upright posture from time to time
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The movement comes from the elbows | Keep your arms straight and passive. If your elbows bend, it turns into a curl and the shoulder girdle barely moves. |
| The band is too heavy | Take hold higher up the band or use a lighter one. Too much pull locks the shoulders down and the circle shrinks. |
| The head drifts forward | It happens without you noticing. Draw yourself tall every few circles, sternum lifted a touch, chin back so your head sits over your shoulders. |
| The circles get smaller and smaller | Better to do fewer reps with big circles. As soon as the path shortens, that set is done. |
| Circling in one direction only | Change direction after 15 to 20 circles. Forwards and backwards take the shoulder girdle through different paths. |
| The trunk swings along | Keep your feet still on the band and your ribs stacked over your pelvis. If the torso rocks with it, the pull is too heavy. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Without a band | Do shoulder circles with no resistance until the movement genuinely comes from the shoulder girdle and your elbows stay quiet. |
| Light band, 15 to 20 circles per direction | Band under the feet, arms hanging straight, wide circles in both directions without the path shrinking. |
| Take hold lower down | Grip the band a little lower once you can do 15 to 20 wide circles in each direction without compensating. |
Reps and load
15 to 20 circles per direction, one or two sets, wide circles.
It fits into the warm-up before upper-body pushing and pulling, and as a short break on long desk days. Alongside the face pull and the shoulder dislocate it makes a small shoulder routine: circles to warm up, face pull for strength, shoulder dislocate for the big arc.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Upper trapezius M. trapezius pars descendens | Prime mover | Lifts the scapula against the pull of the band |
| Middle and lower trapezius M. trapezius pars transversa et ascendens | Prime mover | Draw the scapula back and down |
| Serratus anterior M. serratus anterior | Prime mover | Pushes the scapula forward around the ribcage and rotates it upwards |
| Levator scapulae M. levator scapulae | Synergist | Lifts the medial border of the scapula and works through the upper half of the circle |
| Rhomboids Mm. rhomboidei | Synergist | Draw the scapula towards the spine in the back part of the circle |
| Rotator cuff M. supraspinatus, M. infraspinatus, M. subscapularis, M. teres minor | Stabiliser | Keeps the humeral head centred while the scapula travels behind it |
| Pectoralis major and minor M. pectoralis major et minor | Synergist | Contribute to protraction and depression of the shoulder girdle |
| Erector spinae M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Hold the torso upright so the scapula can travel its full path |
Circling spreads the work across the whole trapezius and the serratus anterior — a different part takes over at each point in the circle. The rotator cuff only keeps things centred; it moves nothing.
Explained in full
Andreas shows the set-up with the band under the feet, the set of 15 to 20 circles with a change of direction, and explains why he deliberately works muscles that are permanently held tight. · 1:29
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Ludewig PM, Phadke V, Braman JP, Hassett DR, Cieminski CJ, LaPrade RF. (2009). Motion of the shoulder complex during multiplanar humeral elevation. J Bone Joint Surg Am 91(2):378–389. DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.G.01483 — In 12 people with healthy shoulders, electromagnetic sensors were fixed directly to the clavicle, scapula and humerus via bone pins while the arm was raised and lowered in three planes. Arm elevation is therefore distributed across four joints: the clavicle rotates about 31 degrees posteriorly on average, the scapula tilts 19 degrees posteriorly at its joint, alongside upward rotation of the scapula on the ribcage and glenohumeral elevation with external rotation. The basis for saying the whole shoulder girdle moves here rather than a single joint. Only 12 participants, no ages in the abstract, and what was measured was free arm elevation without a band — circling does not feature. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Kebaetse M, McClure P, Pratt NA. (1999). Thoracic position effect on shoulder range of motion, strength, and three-dimensional scapular kinematics. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 80(8):945–950. DOI: 10.1016/s0003-9993(99)90088-6 — 34 healthy people (mean age 30.2 years) were positioned and held in seated erect and slouched trunk postures in turn; scapular position and orientation, active scapular-plane elevation and holding force were recorded. In the slouched posture active elevation was 23.6 ± 10.7 degrees lower, the scapula tilted markedly less posteriorly above 90 degrees, and force with the arm horizontal was 16.2 per cent lower. The basis for the cue to draw yourself upright again from time to time. An acute comparison of two artificially held seated postures, a mean age of only 30, and no training intervention — the study does not show that a posture cue during a warm-up changes anything lastingly. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Andersen LL, Andersen CH, Mortensen OS, Poulsen OM, Bjørnlund IB, Zebis MK. (2010). Muscle activation and perceived loading during rehabilitation exercises: comparison of dumbbells and elastic resistance. Phys Ther 90(4):538–549. DOI: 10.2522/ptj.20090167 — In 16 female workers (26 to 55 years, mild neck and shoulder complaints), muscle activity in five muscles was measured during lateral raise, wrist extension and shoulder external rotation, each with dumbbells (2 to 7.5 kg) and with elastic tubing. At each person's three-repetition maximum, prime-mover activity was 59 to 87 per cent with dumbbells and 64 to 86 per cent with tubing — with no meaningful difference; rated effort matched measured activity closely. The basis for saying band resistance loads the shoulder musculature comparably. Only 16 women, all with pre-existing complaints, slow controlled straight-line movements, and heavy loads rather than the light warm-up pull tested here. (Evidence type: EMG)
Busch AM, Browstein J, Ulm R. (2021). Comparison of the effects of static-stretching and tubing exercises on acute shoulder range of motion in collegiate baseball players. Int J Sports Phys Ther 16(1):207–215. DOI: 10.26603/001c.18862 — 25 healthy collegiate baseball players (19.8 ± 1.0 years) with an internal rotation deficit greater than 20 degrees performed either static stretching or dynamic tubing exercises as a warm-up on separate days, measured before, immediately after, and at 30 and 60 minutes. Across both conditions internal rotation rose by 10.7 ± 0.8 degrees immediately afterwards, external rotation by 8.6 ± 0.7 degrees and total rotational range by 19.3 ± 1.1 degrees, still 15.7 ± 1.6 degrees at 60 minutes; apart from 1.7 degrees favouring stretching for internal rotation there was no difference between the two. The basis for saying dynamic band work acutely increases range and that the effect persists for a while. Young male throwing athletes with a pathological deficit, no untreated comparison condition, rotation rather than elevation measured, and nothing tested in 40- to 60-year-olds — the effect sizes do not carry over here. (Evidence type: RCT)
Escamilla RF, Yamashiro K, Paulos L, Andrews JR. (2009). Shoulder muscle activity and function in common shoulder rehabilitation exercises. Sports Med 39(8):663–685. DOI: 10.2165/00007256-200939080-00004 — A review of muscle-activity measurements and mechanics across common shoulder exercises. At maximum arm elevation the scapula normally rotates upwards 45 to 55 degrees, tilts posteriorly 20 to 40 degrees and rotates externally 15 to 35 degrees, with serratus anterior contributing to all three components. Estimated contributions to abduction torque are 35 to 65 per cent from the middle deltoid and around 60 per cent in total from the cuff muscles, which are the more effective abductors at low angles. The basis for the attribution in the muscle table. A narrative review with no meta-analysis and no systematic quality appraisal, mostly young and athletic samples, and none of the exercises discussed is a circling movement against band resistance. (Evidence type: Review)
Garríguez-Pérez D, Lopiz Y, Domínguez-Jiménez L, García-Fernández C, Marco F. (2025). Establishing reference values for shoulder mobility and abduction strength in healthy adults. J Biomech 192:112959. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2025.112959 — In both shoulders of 505 adults with no current or prior shoulder condition, flexion, abduction, external and internal rotation and abduction strength were measured, analysed by age band (18 to 30, 31 to 45, 46 to 60, 61 to 75, over 75) and sex. Range of motion declined consistently with age (overall r = −0.45, individual directions between r = −0.37 and −0.40), as did strength (r = −0.40), which was higher in men than women; there was no sex difference in range. The basis for saying shoulder mobility declines with age, and its 46-to-60 band covers the target group directly. Cross-sectional with no cause and effect and no individual trajectories, single-centre recruitment, absolute degree values per age band missing from the abstract, and the study says nothing about whether training slows the decline. (Evidence type: Querschnitt)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.