Home Baseball Content Avoid this Common Wall Slide Mistake

Avoid this Common Wall Slide Mistake

Written on January 29, 2015 at 9:32 am, by Eric Cressey

Those of you who have followed my work for any length of time surely know that I'm a big fan of including wall slide variations to improve scapular (shoulder blade) control. To get the benefits of these drills, though, it's important to use the right technique. Here's one mistake we commonly see, especially in really "tight" athletes who have a lot of stiffness in their lats to overcome:

Apologies for the contribution from Cressey Sports Performance mascot Tank Cressey at the 1:05 mark! This guy thought it'd be a good idea to bark hello to the UPS guy in the middle of my video.

TankTrapBar

Sign-up Today for our FREE Newsletter and receive a four-part video series on how to deadlift!

Name
Email

10 Responses to “Avoid this Common Wall Slide Mistake”

  1. John Ball Says:

    Thanks Eric for another post with added detail to why we must understand what & why we do this for our clents. Didnt get to go to collage for any kind of exercise or kineso degree. Everything I learn I learn thru books & your really awesome post. Its like I have my own personal teacher! So if your goal was to help trainers like me, its been a great tool to my success & how I impact my clients! Your soo awsome and knowledgeable. Im a really big fan & constantly refer you to our interns. Thanks again ”BIG E” keep up the great work.

  2. Dave Says:

    Tank & I are on the same page. Thanks for the coaching tip.

  3. Chris Nunz Says:

    Eric, so just to confirm — we don’t need/want to keep the firearms against the wall through the whole upward motion, but just the first half of it or so and then only the hands are in contact with the wall?

  4. Shane Mclean Says:

    Good tip Eric. You never have to apologize for Tank. Doesn’t he run that joint?

  5. gyffes Says:

    Keep them in a gunsafe; if your safe is against a wall, then sure, do that.

  6. Maurice D. Williams Says:

    Nice E!

  7. Chris Nunz Says:

    Hahaha, just noticed that typo now.

  8. Larry La Flam Says:

    I have the same question. Is it ok for the forearms to come off the wall?

  9. Mike Sisco Says:

    He says in this video the focus is more on the hands being lightly pressed against the wall, and you’ll notice with this particular wall slide variation the forearms come off the wall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJVR2D2OiWM

    But with the serratus wall slide variations the range of motion is much more limited and the forearms do stay on the wall:

  10. Eric Cressey Says:

    Gang,

    Mike hit the nail on the head with the hands off the wall cue. It’s appropriate for the wall slides w/upward rotation and wall slides at 135 degrees, but not the serratus wall slides.


LEARN HOW TO DEADLIFT
  • Avoid the most common deadlifting mistakes
  • 9 - minute instructional video
  • 3 part follow up series