Shoulders · Bodyweight
Bodyweight Standing Scapular External Rotation
How to do the bodyweight standing scapular external rotation, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall with your upper arms tucked against your sides and elbows bent to 90 degrees. Keeping your elbows pinned to your waist, rotate both forearms outward as far as you can while squeezing your shoulder blades, then return to the start with control. Move slowly through a pain-free range.
- 1The back of the shoulders and rotator cuff working as you rotate out
- 2Elbows staying glued to your sides the whole time
- 3Shoulder blades gently squeezing as the forearms open
Common mistakes
- Letting the elbows drift away from your body
- Shrugging the shoulders up toward your ears
- Twisting your torso to create more range
Muscles worked
The bodyweight standing scapular external rotation mainly works the external rotators, with the rear delts assisting.
- External RotatorsPrimary
- Rear DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the bodyweight standing scapular external rotation for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.