Skin the Cat as a Warm-Up

Skin the cat is usually thought of as a strength or flexibility exercise, but done at a controlled, relaxed pace, it's one of the best shoulder warm-up tools available. Here's how I use it.

The warm-up version: perform the skin the cat slowly, without any loading beyond bodyweight, moving through the full range. The goal is not strength — it's taking the shoulder through its full rotational range to prepare it for the session's work.

Effect: the rotation from overhead to shoulder extension and back pre-loads the rotator cuff, activates the serratus anterior, and reduces the stiffness in the shoulder capsule that tends to accumulate overnight or from desk work.

Five reps of skin the cat as a warm-up takes about 3 minutes and prepares the shoulder for anything that follows. I never skip this before a session that includes overhead pressing, ring work, or any skill practice.

Note: this is only appropriate if you have the shoulder flexibility for the full rotation. If you can't complete the full skin the cat, work on the range gradually with partial rotations.