Name: NASM Prone Ball Combo (Trapezius Activation)
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T01:02:18.000Z
Duration: 5 min 35 s

English captions

https://stream.mux.com/IQ8o5BVTF5HlSMgDqoeFUos324E6H3nG7HmOST4yp600.m3u8

Learn how to properly perform the NASM prone ball combo (trapezius activation) in this comprehensive step-by-step instructional video from the Brookbush Institute. This evidence-based video provides expert coaching on setup, positioning, alignment, and exercise modifications to improve trapezius activation and scapular stability. Enhance scapular retraction, depression, and upward rotation while supporting optimal shoulder mechanics and postural alignment with this targeted activation exercise. Perfect for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and rehabilitation clients seeking to improve upper back strength, enhance shoulder stability, and restore optimal movement mechanics while reducing injury risk.

Introduction to Prone Ball Combo Exercises

Demonstration of Prone Ball Cobra and Kinetic Alignment

Transitioning Between Cobra and Scaption for Scapular Control

Exploration of Exercise Progression and Challenges

Applications in Group Training and Movement Preparation

NASM Prone Ball Combo (Trapezius Activation)

This is Brent of the Brookbush Institute, and in this video we're going over something I learned as the NASM prone ball combo. Now this is a mash-up of exercises we've shown previously as trapezius activation namely prone Cobra's, prone horizontal abduction with external rotation, and prone scaption also known as ITY's. I'm going to have my friend Melissa come out, she's going to help me demonstrate this mashup and very difficult progression. She's going to start off in prone ball -position pro ball Cobra position. So we're going to have good kinetic chain alignment between her ankles knees and hips. She's going to plantarflex for me, extend her knees and squeeze her quads, she's going to squeeze her glutes, and drive her hips into the ball so we're reinforcing triple extension. She's also using that hip drive to keep her torso up. What I don't want to see is cuing torso up and ending up in this excessive lumbar extension. This is a lot of erector spinae activity and this could reinforce some of our compensation patterns like an anterior pelvic tilt. So I want to go ahead and cure to get long this way really push off that wall with triple extension, drive her hips into the ball and that will keep your torso nice and aligned. I'm going to have her go ahead and grab our dumbbells. All of that is just a nice isometric hold while we do our target exercise of trapezius activation starting with a cobra. Now the challenge of this exercise is once we get them in a cobra and they're depressed, we know they got their lower traps working, we're going to try to keep them depressed, keep those lower traps active as we smoothly transition into scaption. You guys can see it's very difficult to maintain those scapula down, she's going to lower her arms just as she did and then back into a Cobra. Good, hold down and back, there we go, up up up up up, stay, keep those scapula depressed, pinch, good, real good. Notice she's doing a good job too of keeping in external rotation, so her thumbs always stay facing the ceiling, always stay facing the ceiling, and you see all that was actually a pretty good rep. I thought she was going to lose it there.. I thought she was going to fall into some scapular elevation. Go ahead and keep going. You guys will find that trying to get 12 perfect reps nice and slow without any excessive elevation or anterior tipping of the scapula is very difficult. Not to mention this ends up being a pretty good core exercise for the glutes, and drawing in and back down, just seven more, okay. So we're going to go ahead and let her have a break. I have seen this taught in the reverse order so from scaption to Cobra, we can try that. The reason I tend not to use this progression as much, is I find it's a lot trickier to get somebody to go into scaption without excessive elevation and then stay down, as opposed to if I have somebody, let's go ahead and start in Cobra this time, I have somebody start in Cobra they're already depressed in their scapula and then they're just trying to maintain it, and most of this is a really good job from there but let's go ahead and try the scaption one again. So you're going to start up and you can see she like wants to, she wants to elevate so we're reinforcing that pattern, and then maybe I can cue her out of it, but I'd rather start good and end good, than start bad and have to queue out of bad to get to good. Either way guys I think you'll find the 12 to 20 reps at a nice slow tempo is serious, notice that Melissa's is only using three pound dumbbells and Melissa is strong, she's really really strong. This is one of those exercises where you pull out the small dumbbells and people go what are you going to do with those? Like, like go get the 20's, because they know if the small dumbbells come out there's something really difficult in their future. I think you'll find that even just using bodyweight on this exercise, Why don't you try a couple without the dumbbells, even just using bodyweight is very challenging. It's very challenging to get people to work on depression and upward rotation, without upward rotation and excessive elevation. This is a great thing to use in group classes. It's a great thing to use in small group training right, you're looking for exercises that don't take a lot of equipment. You could do something like this to get the shoulder girdle warmed up as part of your movement prep, before doing some more complicated exercises for the upper body. I hope you guys enjoy this exercise. I hope you guys enjoy this progression. I look forward to seeing some videos, maybe of somebody who could pull off 20 slow controlled reps with the five pound dumbbells. I think you guys are going to find that even your biggest guys have a hard time with that one. I'll talk with you guys soon. 

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Integrated functional anatomy of the shoulder girdle – Bones, joints, palpation, ligaments, nerves, joint anatomy, joint actions, arthrokinematics, muscles, fascia, and range of motion of the scapula, clavicle, and acromion. Highlighting the behaviors in postural dysfunction, shoulder pain, neck pain, and common interventions for the sternoclavicular, acromioclavicular, and scapulothoracic joints. 

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Trapezius exercises for improving movement dysfunction, posture, shoulder pain, neck pain, forward head, scapulothoracic pain, and sports performance. Great scaption, cobra, ITY variations and progressions.

Trapezius Exercises (Activation)

Lie prone on a stability ball. The ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine) should be the primary point of contact for the ball, allowing the pressure of one's own bodyweight to be supported by the pelvis and not the stomach.

Dorsiflex the ankles so that the toes, and potentially the balls of the feet, make contact with the floor. For added stability, the balls of the feet may be placed against a wall or solid object, note that the toes should still remain in contact with the floor. Cue triple extension mechanics, extending the hip (contracting the 

 ) and knees (contracting the quadriceps), and plantar flexing the maximally dorsiflexed ankles to push the toes and balls of the feet into the floor and wall. It should be the thrusting of the hips resulting from contracting the 

 that elevates the torso, and not lumbar extension.

 ), avoiding simply extending the neck. The nose should remain pointed toward the floor through the entirety of the movement.

Retract and depress the scapula, extend and externally rotate the arms reaching for the heels. Do not cue arms toward the ceiling as this could result in anterior tipping of the scapula when terminal extension of the shoulder is reached. (Note: the range of motion is fairly small)

In one smooth motion, the arms progress from cobra to scaption while maintaining scapular depression, before allowing them to descend toward the ball.

Perform 12 – 20 repetitions through full available range of motion, with a 2:4:2 tempo, and then move on to your next activation exercise.

Keep in mind that the goal of this exercise is scapular depression with upward rotation, not how much shoulder motion can be achieved. Do not allow scapular elevation or anterior tipping for the sake of gaining more range of motion.

NASM Prone Ball Combo (Trapezius Activation)

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