The PVC pass-through (shoulder dislocate with a stick) holds a PVC pipe or broomstick with a wide grip and rotates it from in front of the body, over the head, and behind the back in a smooth arc. It is the gold-standard shoulder mobility exercise.
Muscle Group
Shoulders
Equipment Required
Stick
Type
Flexibility
Equipment
Band
Difficulty
Intermediate
Key Benefits
- Gold-standard shoulder mobility exercise
- Improves shoulder flexion and extension range
- Warms up the entire shoulder complex
- Easy to track progress by grip width
- Minimal equipment needed
- Used by Olympic lifters worldwide
How to perform
- Hold a PVC pipe, broomstick, or band with a very wide overhand grip in front of your thighs.
- Keep your arms straight throughout.
- Raise the stick up overhead and continue the arc behind your back.
- The stick should travel from front → overhead → behind in one smooth motion.
- Reverse the motion back to the front.
- Start with a very wide grip. Narrow over time as mobility improves.
- If any point feels painful, widen your grip.
- Perform 10 to 15 pass-throughs as a warm-up.
FRONT VIEW
BACK VIEW
Rotator Cuff
Primary
Traps
Primary
Shoulder
Primary
Back
Primary
Chest
Primary