The Rotator Cuff is a complex of 4 muscles in the shoulder that stabilize and strengthen the joint. This makes it one of the most critical sets of muscles in the human body, in terms of functional movement in the upper body.

If you've ever had a rotator cuff injury, you know how much a problem in this area affects just about everything you from training all the way to just simply brushing your teeth.

In terms of training, a strong Rotator Cuff will help you lift more weight in all upper body pressing movements...yes, it will help you build a bigger bench (with fewer shoulder issues).

There are a variety of good exercises you can use to strengthen these Rotator Cuff muscles, all which involve some form of external rotation at the shoulder joint. Here's an illustration of the movement.

The exercise I've got for you is a bodyweight version of an exercise called a Standing L Raise.

That exercise is done with a light dumbbell, band or cable with the upper arm held at 90 degrees to the body, elbow bent into an L. You rotate your upper arm from a horizontal position to a vertical position (external rotation) against the resistance.

The idea for this one came to me after a conversation with my good friend and colleague, Will Chung (who is what I would call a master movement specialist and analyst), where he was helping with some shoulder mobility exercises.

Will was talking with me about how the upper arms (in the context of external rotation) can be thought of as a rod on a Foosball table. To visualize the movement, he told me the muscles of the Rotator Cuff are used to actively rotate that "arm rod" backwards and around.

Naturally, I took that visual and created a new exercise/movement based on it...

To perform this Bodyweight Standing L Raises, you'll need a bar set at about chest height (or higher, if you need less resistance). This can be a bar set on the rails of a power rack or just a Smith machine bar.

Your body will be at angle, similar to if you were going to do an Inverted Row. Grip the bar on the same place you'd grip for a bench press. Pull yourself up into a position where your upper arms are in a "Foosball Bar" position...i.e. straight across, with your elbows bent 90 degrees.

Now rotate your upper arms backwards, which moves your chest towards the bar.

Keep going until your forehead touches the bar.

If you're familiar with an exercise called the Cuban Press, you'll recognize this movement pattern (the Cuban Press is done standing with a barbell, arms held in this same position, externally rotating until the bar touches the forehead). In fact, another name for this exercise could be an Inverted Cuban Press, that's how similar the movement is.

I find this bodyweight version of the exercise gives you more control over the movement and just feels more natural on the shoulder joints, as compared to the barbell exercise.

From here, lower your body back down into the start position. You may find on the way down that your arms straighten a bit. If so, before you start the next rep, reset your shoulder and elbow position back into the 90 degree position again.

This exercise should not be done as a heavy exercise. Make sure when you do this exercise that you keep control of the movement and feel it in the shoulders, not in the biceps or back. If you need to reduce the resistance, simply raise the bar. Don't be a hero... :).

You can use this exercise as part of your warm-up/activation/mobility work before you get into the full workout or as a strengthening exercise after you've completed your training. Either one is fine.

Aim for 6-10 reps per sets and perform 1-3 sets of this, depending on how much you feel you need.

This is a great exercise for helping improve your shoulder joint integrity, strength and mobility. It requires no weight and just a very simple setup.

If your Rotator Cuff needs some help, this an exercise you'll want to try.

This exercise is MUCH easier to "get" when you watch it in action it in video.