Snow Angel Exercise & Workout – UPDATED 2021 – A Complete Guide

The snow angel is an exercise that focuses on the external rotators of the shoulder. This exercise helps to build strength in the shoulder area while helping to improve upper-body mobility. Not only that, the snow angel exercise helps improve posture while decreasing shoulder and neck pain, a benefit to all types of athletes.

If you are looking for a simple exercise that can target different muscle groups, the snow angel and it’s variations are the perfect addition to any training plan.

In this article, we look at the different variations of the exercises. These include the reverse and standing variations, as well as the standard version that can help improve your posture and mobility.

 

Snow Angel Exercise & Workout – UPDATED 2021

The snow angel exercise is a perfect exercise to add to your regular strength and mobility workout and should be included 2-3 times a week in your training plan. It is a simple workout that is not so difficult to learn and should only take you a matter of minutes to master.

Start by lying on your back, with your legs flat against the floor and your arms at your side. Hover your feet an inch or two above the floor and sweep them out to the side and back to center, hovering the entire time. At the same time, you move your legs, sweep your arms out from your side in a circular motion up above your head, keeping them close to the floor. You want to keep your stomach muscles engaged throughout the exercise and your lower back firm against the floor.

Then return your arms and feet back to your side and center at the same time. Your motion simulates making a snow angel, except you want to focus on keeping your arms and legs from ever touching the floor.

Reverse Snow Angels

The reverse snow angel is another exercise that can benefit your posture and help improve your range of motion. The workout not only helps strengthen your core but also the shoulders. And because of the stabilizing functions needed during each movement, it has become a widely used exercise in sports and fitness.

Similar to the snow angel, the reverse snow angel provides more variation to the already well-known exercise. The main difference is you start by lying on the floor face down.

To begin the exercise, lay flat on the floor with your face down. Then with your legs extended and feet together, slightly lift your torso and head off the ground. Then with your arms extended out front and palms down, pull your elbows down toward your sides. You should then feel the squeeze in your scapula and shoulders. Make sure to keep your legs straight during this exercise.

 

Snow Angel Exercise For Shoulders

Shoulder mobility is vital no matter what sport you compete in, so having a full range of motion in the shoulders is just as important as the legs and hips. By performing the snow angel exercise for shoulders, you can increase your mobility and improve your posture while decreasing shoulder pain.

The workout is perfect for beginners. Not only because it benefits shoulder mobility, but it also helps to promote scapular stability and rotation. Although it can be surprisingly fatiguing and frustrating at times, the exercise can be beneficial to all types of people, not just athletes.

So if you are looking for a workout that offers variation, try adding one of the snow angel variations into your strength and mobility plan.

While completing any of the snow angel shoulder exercises, ensure that proper form is used and remember not to increase the weights too quickly.

The primary objective of the exercise is to improve strength and range of motion. So there is no need to add extra weight. Just focus on proper technique and slow, controlled movement throughout.

Standing Snow Angel Exercise

Another version of the snow angel workout is to do the exercise standing up against a wall. The Standing Snow Angel exercise focuses on proper scapular alignment and movement by utilizing a wall to perform the exercise.

Begin by standing against a wall, facing away. Start with your arms down near your side, with your palms facing away from the wall. Then slowing slide your arms up the wall in a snow angel or jumping jack type motion. Hold for a second and then slowly return to the starting position to complete the first rep of the standing exercise.

Once you reach 90 degrees, it should be hard to keep contact with the wall, especially if you are experience tightness in the shoulders or pecs. If this is the case try slowing down the speed and focus on technique.