STOIK Your arms will get there.
The question is what your back did to help. Two minutes against a wall.
SHOULDERS BORROW FROM THE SPINE.
When the shoulder runs out of room, the low back arches to finish the job. It works. It just wears out the wrong thing.
THREE STEPS.
SET UP AGAINST THE WALL.
Back to the wall, feet a few inches out, flatten your low back so there's no gap.
REACH OVERHEAD.
Arms straight, thumbs back, take the backs of your hands toward the wall above your head.
NOW CHECK YOUR BACK.
If your low back lifted off the wall to get there, that's the answer. The range came from your spine, not your shoulders.
ZERO GAP IS THE STANDARD.
Backs of the hands on the wall with your low back still flat against it. That's a clean overhead.
ALMOST EVERYBODY CHEATS THIS ONE.
And nobody feels it happen. The arch is small, it's automatic, and it has been going on every time you reach a high shelf.
A TIGHT SHOULDER ISN'T ALWAYS THE SHOULDER.
Sometimes it's an upper back that won't extend. Sometimes it's a shoulder blade that won't rotate. Which one it is decides what actually fixes it.
TEST NO. 02 OF SIXTY TWO.
A new one lands every few weeks. Do this one, then watch for the next.