Standing Band Shoulder Extension
Hook two loop bands onto the door at hip height and stand with your back to it. The loops sit around your wrists rather than in your hands — your hands stay open and relaxed. Your arms hang straight at your sides. From there, draw them back against the bands, palms facing backwards. As you do, lift your sternum, draw your shoulder blades back and down, and bring your chin back. The bands stay light.
The exercise draws your straight arms back against the band — and the point is what everything else does while it happens: ribcage lifted, shoulder blades back and down, chin back. Without that it turns into an arm pull.
The pull comes horizontally from the door, from a direction you otherwise hardly ever load the arms in. With weights in standing there is no load behind the body at all.
The band stays light. With your arms at your sides the latissimus otherwise joins in, and it turns the shoulder inwards and draws it down — the opposite of what you want here. The path backwards goes only as far as your shoulder blades stay back and down.
From practice: I put this together for home and for the days between sessions, not for the session itself. I give it as homework to desk workers and as a warm-up before pressing — always paired with the externally rotated version. That is what I see in the studio.
Starting position
You need two light loop bands. Hook both onto the door at hip height — in the video they sit around the round plate below the door handle. The door is shut and cannot swing open. Then put both hands through the loops so that they sit around your wrists. Your hands stay open and relaxed — you are not gripping anything.
Stand with your back to the door and step forward far enough that the bands are just taut while your arms hang at your sides. Your feet are hip-width apart.
Now draw your arms back against the bands, keeping them straight, with your palms facing backwards. At the same time lift your sternum a little, draw your shoulder blades back and down, and bring your chin back as though lengthening through the back of your head. Then let your arms come forward again under control.
Three things decide whether this works. First, the bands are light — not slightly lighter than you could manage, but clearly light. Second, your arms go back only as far as you can keep your shoulder blades back and down; the moment your ribcage tips forward or your shoulders roll forward, you have gone too far. Third, the pull does not come from your arms alone — your ribcage and shoulder blades move with it.
This version, with the palms facing backwards, is the neutral one. Always do it together with the externally rotated version.
The three cues
- Two light loop bands on the door at hip height, loops around your wrists
- Hands open and relaxed — you are not gripping anything
- Draw your arms back with the elbows straight, palms facing backwards
- Lift your sternum, shoulder blades back and down
- Chin back, lengthen through the back of your head
- Only as far back as you can keep your shoulder blades back and down
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| The bands are too heavy | Use clearly lighter ones, or step closer to the door. With too much pull the latissimus takes over, and it draws the shoulder exactly where it should not go. |
| The arms go too far back | Stop as soon as your ribcage tips forward or your shoulders roll forward. Going further back buys you nothing here. |
| Only the arms pull while the trunk stays passive | Lift your sternum before the arms start, and draw your shoulder blades back and down. Scapular work comes first, then the arm. |
| The head pushes forward | Chin back and lengthen through the back of your head while the arms pull. That is part of the exercise, not a finishing touch. |
| The elbows bend | Keep your arms straight. Once your elbows bend, the arm does the work and the shoulder barely moves. |
| The torso leans forward to gain range | Ribs over pelvis, weight through the whole foot. Leaning forward shifts the movement into the hip. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Short range, very light band | Only as far back as you can reliably hold your sternum lifted and your shoulder blades back and down. |
| Full controlled range | The arms go to the point where your shoulder blades still stay back and down — the same distance on every rep. |
| Short hold at the back | Hold for two or three breaths at the end of the range rather than moving to a heavier band. |
Reps and load
Twelve reps, one or two sets, calm tempo. Always paired with the externally rotated version.
As homework for desk days and as a warm-up before upper-body pressing. Together with the face pull and banded shoulder circles it forms a small home shoulder routine.
You progress with a short hold at the back rather than a heavier band.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Posterior deltoid M. deltoideus pars spinalis | Prime mover | Draws the upper arm back against the bands |
| Middle trapezius M. trapezius pars transversa | Prime mover | Draws the scapula towards the spine — starts before the posterior deltoid |
| Lower trapezius M. trapezius pars ascendens | Prime mover | Draws the scapula down and holds it against the ribcage |
| Rhomboids Mm. rhomboidei | Synergist | Draw the scapula towards the spine |
| Latissimus dorsi and teres major M. latissimus dorsi, M. teres major | Synergist | Help take the arm back — preferentially involved in this low arm position, which is why the band stays light |
| Thoracic erector spinae M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keep the ribcage lifted so the scapula can move freely |
| Deep cervical flexors M. longus colli, M. longus capitis | Stabiliser | Keep the head over the shoulders while the arms pull |
The posterior deltoid and the middle and lower trapezius are the target. Latissimus dorsi and teres major help take the arm back but turn it inwards — which is exactly why the band stays light.
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.
See the workshopsNew exercise pages are added all the time — the newsletter keeps you posted.
Sources
De Mey K, Cagnie B, Van de Velde A, Danneels L, Cools AM. (2009). Trapezius muscle timing during selected shoulder rehabilitation exercises. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 39(10):743–752. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2009.3089 — In 30 healthy people (14 men, 16 women), the onset timing of the three trapezius portions relative to the posterior deltoid was measured across several rehabilitation exercises. During resisted shoulder extension lying face down, the middle trapezius switched on markedly earlier than the posterior deltoid, and the upper trapezius later. The basis for saying scapular control precedes the arm pull — that is, for making no isolated arm pulling the core of the exercise. A narrow age range, which the authors flag themselves; measured prone against gravity rather than standing against a horizontal band pull, and the lower trapezius showed no early onset in this exercise. (Evidence type: EMG)
Shirai T, Ijiri T, Suzuki T. (2024). Scapular motion during shoulder joint extension movement. J Biomech 166:112019. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112019 — Three-dimensional analysis of scapular motion in 22 healthy men (25.8 ± 2.7 years) during seated shoulder extension, assessed from 0 to 50 degrees in ten-degree steps. In most participants the scapula tilted posteriorly up to roughly 30 degrees of extension and anteriorly beyond that; upward and external rotation increased throughout, and the acromion moved upward and backward. The basis for limiting range, and the correction of an older rule of thumb: the crossover sits at about 30 degrees, and above 50 degrees there are no data. Young men only, a small sample, seated rather than standing, and no band resistance — with a stiffer thoracic spine the crossover is to be expected earlier rather than later. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Cools AM, Dewitte V, Lanszweert F, Notebaert D, Roets A, Soetens B, Cagnie B, Witvrouw EE. (2007). Rehabilitation of scapular muscle balance: which exercises to prescribe? Am J Sports Med 35(10):1744–1751. DOI: 10.1177/0363546507303560 — In 45 healthy people, activity in the three trapezius portions and serratus anterior was measured across twelve common scapular exercises and judged by upper-to-lower and upper-to-middle ratios. Resisted shoulder extension lying face down was among the four exercises meeting the criterion for a favourable ratio — plenty of middle and lower with little upper. The basis for the muscle selection of this movement pattern, independent of equipment. The largest EMG sample in this set, but with no age range in the abstract, measured prone against gravity, an acute snapshot with no postural outcome, and for the serratus ratio none of the twelve exercises met the criterion. (Evidence type: EMG)
Hughes CJ, Hurd K, Jones A, Sprigle S. (1999). Resistance properties of Thera-Band tubing during shoulder abduction exercise. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 29(7):413–420. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.1999.29.7.413 — Band tension measured with a strain gauge in 9 men and 6 women (25.9 ± 3.6 years) across six band thicknesses, with positions held at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 degrees of abduction alongside motion analysis of arm position. Tension rose linearly with percentage change in length, yet the resulting joint torque curves resembled those of ordinary weight loading — a point the authors state explicitly. Included here as a correction: band tension and joint load are two different quantities, because the moment arm moves with the limb. Young participants, abduction rather than extension, and a vertical band line rather than the horizontal door-handle geometry — the numbers do not transfer, though the principle does. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Patterson RM, Stegink Jansen CW, Hogan HA, Nassif MD. (2001). Material properties of Thera-Band Tubing. Phys Ther 81(8):1437–1445. DOI: 10.1093/ptj/81.8.1437 — Bench testing of every Thera-Band tubing type in a mechanical testing machine, plotting force against percentage strain. The material behaves non-linearly at first and linearly beyond roughly 50 per cent elongation, and the paper provides force-elongation plots for choosing band thickness. The basis for the first half of the claim: band force genuinely does rise along the path backwards. Pure material testing with no person, no joint and no moment arm — it says nothing about the load at the shoulder in the end position; it also covers tubing rather than flat bands and is specific to one manufacturer. (Evidence type: Messmethodik)
Fukunaga T, Fedge C, Tyler T, Mullaney M, Schmitt B, Orishimo K, Kremenic I, Nicholas S. (2022). Band pull-apart exercise: effects of movement direction and hand position on shoulder muscle activity. Int J Sports Phys Ther 17(3):400–408. DOI: 10.26603/001c.33026 — In 10 healthy men (36 ± 12 years, no shoulder findings), activity in infraspinatus, the three trapezius portions and the posterior deltoid was measured across three movement directions crossed with three hand positions. Direction mattered a great deal: middle trapezius 63.4 per cent of maximum diagonally upwards against 28.0 per cent diagonally downwards, lower trapezius 62.4 against 15.3 per cent, posterior deltoid 62.9 against 29.4 per cent; a supinated hand favoured the lower trapezius and a pronated one the deltoid. Included here to place the low arm path in context: for the middle and lower trapezius it is not the strongest path. Only 10 men, acute amplitudes with no training outcome, rhomboids not measured, and a pull-apart in front of the body is not extension behind it. (Evidence type: EMG)
Di Fonza D, Di Claudio G, Colantuono G, et al. (2026). Electromyographic analysis of latissimus dorsi activation during common resistance training exercises: a narrative review. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 11(3):315. DOI: 10.3390/jfmk11030315 — A review of 23 EMG studies on latissimus dorsi activation across pulling exercises, with methodological appraisal against six criteria. In the seated row a lower shoulder abduction angle went with greater latissimus amplitude, and the authors identify the humerus-to-trunk relationship as a key mechanical determinant of load distribution. The basis for saying the latissimus is preferentially involved in this low arm position — and therefore for the light band as a condition. A narrative review with no pooled figures, the underlying studies concern pulling against external load rather than shoulder extension against a light band, teres major is not treated separately, and the authors describe their own conclusions as tentative. (Evidence type: Review)
Sheikhhoseini R, Shahrbanian S, Sayyadi P, O'Sullivan K. (2018). Effectiveness of therapeutic exercise on forward head posture: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 41(6):530–539. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2018.02.002 — A review with meta-analysis of seven randomised trials totalling 627 participants on exercise programmes for forward head posture, searched to February 2017 and appraised on the PEDro scale. Craniovertebral angle improved markedly against control and pain intensity moderately, while cranial angle showed no meaningful change. The basis for the homework role at programme level, and at the same time for the limitation that not every postural measure moves. The wide confidence interval signals heterogeneity, the programmes are bundles of stretching and strengthening that isolate no single exercise, and none of them concerns resisted shoulder extension against a band. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Kang NY, Im SC, Kim K. (2021). Effects of a combination of scapular stabilization and thoracic extension exercises for office workers with forward head posture on the craniovertebral angle, respiration, pain, and disability: a randomized-controlled trial. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil 67(3):291–299. DOI: 10.5606/tftrd.2021.6397 — A randomised trial in 32 office workers (13 men, 19 women, mean age 36.6, range 23 to 57) with forward head posture over six weeks, comparing a scapular and thoracic approach against the comparison treatment. Craniovertebral angle improved in both groups; between groups only forced expiratory volume and the pain score differed. The basis for noting that the scapular approach was not superior for the postural angle — the closest age match in this set, because it covers the target group directly. A small sample, six weeks, bundled programmes, and the exercise itself does not appear in it. (Evidence type: RCT)
Lafrance S, Charron M, Dubé MO, Desmeules F, Roy JS, Juul-Kristensen B, Kennedy L, McCreesh K. (2024). The efficacy of exercise therapy for rotator cuff-related shoulder pain according to the FITT principle: a systematic review with meta-analyses. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 54(8):499–512. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2024.12453 — A review with meta-analyses across 22 randomised trials and 1,281 people with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain, organised by frequency, intensity, type and time. Motor-control programmes reduced disability slightly against non-specific programmes but not short-term pain; for eccentric and scapula-focused programmes and for high versus low intensity, certainty stayed low to very low, and not a single comparative trial addressed frequency or duration. Included as the basis for marking the repetition count explicitly as coming from experience. Heterogeneous populations with complaints rather than healthy trainees, no analysis of individual arm positions, and nothing on band resistance. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
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.