Band 90-Degree External Rotation (How To Guide w/ Video)

Band 90-Degree External Rotations are an excellent movement for developing shoulder (specifically rotator cuff) strength. I refer to this type of a movement as a prehab movement, meaning a rehab-type movement that we do to try to prevent an issue before it happens.

In this guide, I’m going to teach you how to do Band 90-Degree External Rotations including important coaching points and a few alternatives.

How To Do Band 90-Degree External Rotations

Equipment Needed

Resistance Band
Something to anchor the band to (Squat Rack works great)

Muscles Worked

Rotator Cuff Muscles (Subscapularis, Infraspinatus, Teres minor, Supraspinatus)

How To

Anchor a thin resistance band to a squat rack at about shoulder height.
Grab the band and take a small step away from the rack to create tension in the band.
Raise the arm up so that the elbow is straight out from the shoulder.
The hand should begin forward, straight out in front of the elbow.
Now, rotate the hand up until it becomes vertical to the elbow (a 90-degree angle).
Rotate back to the starting position and repeat until all reps are complete.

Coaching Points

Pay attention to the angles of the shoulder and elbow. If you try to use too much tension, the hand can tend to come down toward the shoulder.

How Many Reps?

I usually program Band 90-Degree External Rotations as part of an upper-body / shoulder warm-up. 1 to 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Band 90-Degree External Rotation Alternatives

Band Pull Apart / Band Tear

Band Pull Aparts (also called Band Tears) are a rear delt exercise that also uses a resistance band. Really easy to learn and really easy to do, Band Pull Aparts also don’t need anything to anchor the band too.

A, Y, T

A, Y, Ts are a series of three exercises that also emphasize the rear delt and rotator cuff muscles. They’re also a great prehab movement that I love using within my upper-body warm-ups.