Scarecrow exercise isn’t one you hear about often, but it can be an effective way to target your abs and shoulders at the same time. The exercise does also involve your upper back and lower traps, which means it can also be very effective in giving you that coveted V-shaped back, and helping you look better in those tank tops and dresses this summer season. Here’s how to do the scarecrow exercise correctly and effectively so you can start seeing those muscles.
What Is a Scarecrow Exercise?
Scarecrow is a gym workout that targets the abs and shoulders and also includes the upper back and lower jaws. Despite their usefulness and benefits, scarecrow workouts are rarely seen in the gym.
They are an excellent addition to any upper body weightlifting regimen and are suitable not only for bodybuilders, but also for athletes participating in sports such as baseball, volleyball, and tennis.
The scarecrow workout mainly targets the shoulder muscles and is not only helpful to prevent or repair injuries, but also to improve posture.
Benefits of Scarecrow Exercises.
The benefits of doing scarecrow exercises include strengthening and toning different muscle groups. It’s effect enhanced by using weight. The moves work the muscles in your upper arms, forearm, shoulders, upper back, and core.
It makes some daily tasks easier, such as lifting heavier, easier, while also reducing the risk of injury. In addition, the technique burns calories. Controlling your weight reduces the risk of heart disease, depression, diabetes and cancer.
The scarecrow exercise is a great way to target your abs and shoulders. This exercise also engage your upper back and lower traps, which makes it a great workout for your entire upper body. Plus, the scarecrow exercise is a great way to improve your posture.(1)
You will be focusing on tightening up those abdominal muscles that have been stretched out from sitting at desks all day long.
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Equipment You Need.
You will need a light weight for this exercise. For the light weight, you can use a dumbbell. If you don’t have any of these things, you can also use a milk jug filled with water or sand.
Push yourself back up so that you are standing upright again. That is one rep. Repeat on both sides for three sets each (six total).
Instructions On How To Do It.
Step 1: Take a pair of light dumbbells.
Step 2: Bend on your waist and bend your knees slightly and let your arms hang downwards.
Step 3: Start the exercise by retracting your shoulder blades.
Step 4: Raise your elbows so that your arms make a 90-degree angle and the knuckles are towards the ground.
Step 5: Turn the dumbbells upwards so that they correspond to your head, at which point the palms should be towards the floor.
Step 6: Push the dumbbell forward so that your arms are straight.
Step 7: Bring the moments back to the starting position.
Tips For Doing The Scarecrow Exercise.
You can repeat the exercise for 30 seconds. You can also increase or decrease the time or number of repetitions depending what works best for you. When doing this exercise, be sure to keep your abdomen tight.
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Types of Scarecrow Exercises.
1. Dumbbells Scarecrow.
Keep your feet apart respect to shoulder-width. Holding the dumbbell in each hand, keep your arms straight, then let your hands fall such that your arms are bent in a 90-degree position. Make sure that your upper arms are properly aligned with your shoulders.
Turning your right arm at the elbow, lower your arm diagonally over your body to your left hip, while doing so bend your proboscis and bend your legs slightly. Return to the starting position and repeat this motion with your left hand. Complete 3 sets of 10 reps on each side, gradually increasing the weight of the dumbbells over time.
2. Cable Scarecrows.
Stand away from the cable machine with pulley set low.
Hold the handle with one hand, and bring the handle to chest height, elbows bent at a right angle. From here, keep the upper arm steady and rotate with elbows and shoulders to move the hand next to the head.
3. Prone Scarecrow.
Support your body on a tilted bench at a 45-degree angle and bend your forearms, as explained in the main exercise.
4. Plates Scarecrow.
Stand with your legs separated by shoulder width. Take a weighted plate in each hand and, keeping your abs tense, bend over the knees and hips until your torso is almost parallel to the floor. Let your arms hang straight down, then lift them up so they make a 90-degree angle at the elbows.
Your upper arms must be aligned with your shoulders. Rotate your forearms until your hands and weights are equal to your head, then press the weights directly in front of you as if you are doing pushups.
Bring your arms back toward you, letting your forearms fall so that the weight is now close to the ground and slowly return to the starting position and complete the reps. Try & complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, resting for 60 seconds between each set.
5. Banded Scarecrow.
This version of the band resistant scarecrow is a great way to activate and rehab/prehab your shoulders. It requires very little trap and rear tilt recruitment as well as helps add some volume to help build a stronger upper back.
Alternative Exercises.
One way to do scarecrow exercises is to stand with your legs separated by shoulder width and bend each arm at a 90-degree angle. Put one hand up and one hand down and take your arms in turn up and down so that one is always up and one is always down, back and forth between your arms.
Some routines include kneeling while doing the trick. Others need to move both hands up and down at the same time.
Another change is to start exercising with both hands, but take them down alternately one by one. Many times scarecrows are carried out while holding a free load in each hand.
Frequently Asked Questions.
The scarecrow exercise engage your core, shoulders, arms and back muscles while working on balance.
1. Which Muscles are used in scarecrow exercise?
The scarecrow exercise engage your core, shoulders, arms and back muscles while working on balance.
2. What Equipment Is Needed?
You will need a set of dumbbells in order to perform this exercise correctly.
3. How Long Should I Rest Between Sets?
You should take about 1 minute for each break between sets for this workout.
Bottom Line.
The scarecrow exercise is a great way to target your abs and shoulders. It also involves your upper back and lower traps, making it a great all-around workout. Plus, it’s easy to do and doesn’t require any equipment. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!
+2 Sources
Freaktofit has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, educational research institutes, and medical organizations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and up-to-date by reading our editorial policy.
- Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4499985/
- Abdominal Muscles; https://www.physio-pedia.com/Abdominal_Muscles
