What is a good warm-up I can do before my shoulder workout in the gym?

If you planning to perform a shoulder workout, it will be important to adequately prepare these tissues with a proper warm-up before jumping into your workout. An adequate warm typically includes foam rolling (a self-massage technique that helps you roll out knots in your muscles), static stretching, and low intensity strengthening exercises or dynamic movements. To begin your warm-up, foam roll your lats and mid back. These muscles connect to your shoulder and play an important role in maintaining proper shoulder mechanics. When foam rolling, be sure to hold on the most tender area of that particular muscle for roughly 30 seconds. This will allow the muscle enough time to relax and the foam roll to penetrate the tissue releasing unwanted tension and knots within the muscle. After foam rolling, static stretch your chest, lats, biceps, triceps, and neck (upper trapezius). All of these muscles also play an important role for maintaining optimal shoulder mechanics. Upon completing your flexibility work, perform some light strengthening exercises such as a cable shoulder external rotation, dumbbell scaption and ball cobra. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions with a light weight and slow tempo.