Injury Prevention Series: The Most Overlooked Muscle in Shoulder Health
Welcome back to Injury Prevention Series. Today, we’re focusing on a critical—but often overlooked—muscle that plays a major role in shoulder stability, injury prevention, and climbing performance: the serratus anterior.
What is the Serratus Anterior?
The serratus anterior is a muscle that wraps around the rib cage and attaches to the scapula (shoulder blade). Its primary job? Keeping the scapula stable and gliding smoothly along the ribcage during overhead and pushing movements.
Why It Matters — Especially for Climbers
Climbers, lifters, and athletes often experience shoulder pain or injury from dysfunctional scapular movement. When the serratus anterior is weak or underactive, the scapula can ‘wing out,’ limiting shoulder mobility, overloading other tissues, and setting you up for rotator cuff problems, impingement, or even nerve irritation.
Why It’s Often Overlooked
Because the serratus isn’t a showy muscle and you can’t directly isolate it with most traditional exercises, it’s easy to neglect. Many people focus on delts and traps while ignoring the stabilizers that keep everything aligned. In climbing, where scapular control is essential, this becomes a ticking time bomb for injury.
How to Strengthen It
The good news? You can train your serratus anterior effectively with smart movement. Here are a few of my go-to exercises:
- Wall slides with foam roller (with scapular protraction)
- Push-up plus (adding a protraction at the top)
- Serratus punches (cable or banded)
- Scapular control drills in hanging positions (great for climbers)
Start light, focus on control, and progress gradually—your shoulders will thank you.
Train What You Don’t See
You don’t have to wait for shoulder pain to train smart. By including serratus anterior work in your routine now, you can build healthier, more stable shoulders that support better climbing, stronger pressing, and fewer injuries overall.