Shoulders · Bodyweight
Rotator Cuff Warm-up
How to do the rotator cuff warm-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall with your elbows bent to 90 degrees and tucked against your sides. Keeping your elbows pinned, slowly rotate your forearms outward away from your body, then back in toward your stomach. Move through a controlled range to warm the small muscles around the shoulder.
- 1Feel a light working sensation deep in the back of the shoulder
- 2Keep your elbows glued to your ribs as you rotate
- 3Move slow and controlled, this is a warm-up not a lift
Common mistakes
- Don't let your elbows drift away from your sides
- Avoid shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears
- Don't rush or add heavy load; keep it light
Muscles worked
The rotator cuff warm-up mainly works the external rotators, with the rear delts and internal rotators assisting.
- External RotatorsPrimary
- Rear DeltsSupport
- Internal RotatorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the rotator cuff warm-up 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.