Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Stand or sit tall. Bring one arm straight across the chest at shoulder height. Use the opposite hand or forearm to gently pull the arm closer to the chest. Keep the shoulder blade DOWN — don't let it shrug up. You should feel the stretch in the back of the shoulder joint. Hold breathing steadily for the time prescribed on the workout card. Switch sides. Repeat for the prescribed sets.
Why It Works
The posterior shoulder capsule tightens chronically in hockey players from repeated shooting, passing, and checking motions. This tightness creates internal rotation deficit — a major contributor to shoulder impingement, labrum stress, and SLAP tears. The cross-body stretch directly targets the posterior capsule and is the #1 recommended stretch in shoulder injury prevention protocols for overhead and contact athletes.
Hockey Transfer
Releases the rear shoulder after rows and pulling — prevents impingement. Most hockey players ignore the posterior shoulder. The injury report disagrees with that priority.
Coaching Cues
- "Pull one arm across the chest with the other"
- "At shoulder height. Feel the rear delt. Hold."
Common Mistakes
Shrugging the shoulder up during the stretch — pull the blade down first. Pulling aggressively — this should be a gentle, sustained stretch. Forgetting the dominant (shooting) side needs more attention. Holding less than 30 seconds — static stretch requires 30+ seconds for tissue change.
Progression / Regression
Sleeper stretch (lying on side, internal rotation) — deeper posterior capsule target.
Door frame chest stretch — broader shoulder stretch as an easier starting point.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
N/A (mobility/recovery)
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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