Recurring weak serratus anterior

[johng1968]

First off, Ive had a number of physio appointments over the years which have ruled out any nerve damage etc

But I keep running into problems every now and then caused by a weak serratus anterior, I then go back to the physio exercises (e.g. scapular push-ups) which tend to fix it.

Im confused about why this happens as I do a lot of standard compound and bodyweight exercises in my routine such as pushups, DB presses, military press... aswell as back / posterior delt exercises etc

I dont know anyone else who has to isolate their serratus

All I can think of is:

1. I had quite a bad case of shoulder impingement around 8 years ago which involved my serratus
2. I spend a lot of time at a desk

Do I just need to continue doing serratus exercises for the rest of my life? or might I be missing something else?

 

[cfitz]

@johng1968 If doing serratus anterior pushups fixes it, continue that. I do bench press plus with my warm up weight of 135 pounds. So I work it out at least 4 sets/week. Any muscle gets weaker if you don't work it out. And bench press with higher weights (because keep my shoulder blades together), deadlift, squats don't work out the serratus. For me incline bench press does some also. Overhead press not so much.

 

[johng1968]

@cfitz Thanks, yeah I'll probably keep up with the scapular pushups!

 

[halterfr33]

@johng1968 Jeff of Athleanx has a video about getting Boxer Abs where he details exercises to strengthen Serratus Anterior

 

[johng1968]

@halterfr33 Yeah I think I've seen that... with the cable serratus punches? I'll probably start doing them again too

 

[pacific75]

@johng1968 Would you mind sharing what other physio exercises you found useful? Dealing with serratus anterior issues and losing my mind

 

[johng1968]

@pacific75 Sure, it was mostly scapular pushups and serratus punches w/ cable or resistance band. I also once got prescribed 'stir the pot' with a swiss ball which hit it really hard... also bear crawls but you need a lot of space for that