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Exercise

Shoulder Tap

Shoulder Tap builds core stability and shoulder control by challenging your balance while supporting your body on one arm at a time.

Bodybuilding exercises

Warm-up exercises

Shoulders

Abs

Bodyweight exercises

Fatigue level

Low 2/3 High

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The Shoulder Tap is a bodyweight stability exercise performed from a high plank position, where you alternate tapping each shoulder with the opposite hand. By removing one point of contact from the floor, the exercise forces your core and shoulders to work harder to resist rotation and maintain alignment.

You should feel your abs, shoulders, and arms actively engaged as you shift weight from side to side. Keeping your hips level and movements controlled is key, as excessive sway reduces effectiveness and increases strain on the lower back.

This exercise fits well into core, conditioning, and functional training programs. It can be made easier by widening your stance or harder by slowing the tempo, increasing time under tension, or performing it from an elevated or unstable surface.

How to Perform the Shoulder Tap

Begin in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders, arms straight, and feet hip-width apart.
Engage your core by drawing your navel toward your spine and squeezing your glutes to maintain a straight line from head to heels.
Keeping your hips as stable as possible, lift your right hand off the ground and tap your left shoulder while exhaling.
Return your right hand to the starting position while inhaling, ensuring your wrist aligns under your shoulder.
Lift your left hand off the ground and tap your right shoulder while exhaling, maintaining a stable hip position.
Return your left hand to the starting position while inhaling, completing one full repetition.
Continue alternating shoulder taps at a controlled pace, focusing on minimizing any rotation or shifting in your hips and shoulders.
Breathe rhythmically throughout the exercise, generally exhaling during the tap and inhaling as you return to the starting position.

Important information

Keep your hips square to the ground throughout the movement, avoiding the tendency to rotate or pike your hips upward.
Maintain tension in your core and glutes at all times to prevent your lower back from sagging.
If the exercise is too challenging, modify by performing it with your knees on the ground instead of your toes.
Focus on quality over speed, ensuring each shoulder tap is controlled and your body remains stable.

FAQ - Shoulder Tap

What muscles do Shoulder Taps work?

Shoulder Taps primarily target the anterior deltoids (front shoulders) and core muscles including the rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis. Your serratus anterior, triceps, and upper back muscles also engage as stabilizers throughout the movement.

What are the most common form mistakes with Shoulder Taps?

The most common mistakes include rotating the hips instead of keeping them square to the floor, sagging in the lower back, and rushing through repetitions. Focus on maintaining a rigid plank position with your shoulders stacked directly over your wrists and hips level throughout the entire exercise.

How can I modify Shoulder Taps if I'm a beginner?

Beginners can perform Shoulder Taps from a knee plank position instead of a full plank to reduce intensity. Alternatively, try widening your foot stance for better stability or performing the exercise against a wall or elevated surface like a bench to decrease the load on your shoulders and core.

How often should I include Shoulder Taps in my workout routine?

Incorporate Shoulder Taps 2-3 times weekly, either as part of your core training or within full-body circuit workouts. For best results, perform 2-3 sets of 10-20 taps per side, focusing on quality movement rather than speed or volume.

How can I progress the Shoulder Tap exercise once it becomes too easy?

Progress your Shoulder Taps by elevating your feet on a step or stability ball, adding a weight plate on your lower back, increasing time under tension with slower taps, or incorporating shoulder tap variations like spider taps (bringing knee to elbow) between standard taps.

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Primary Muscles

Abs

Secondary Muscles

Front Delts

Muscle Groups

Shoulders Abs

Mechanic

Compound

Risk Areas

Front Delts

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Workouts with Shoulder Tap

Best Biceps and Shoulder workouts

Biceps and shoulders are key upper-body muscles that work together in many pulling and pressing movements. In these workouts, you’ll train both areas to improve strength, definition, and symmetry. Compound exercises like overhead presses and chin-ups form the core of your routine, engaging large muscle groups for size and power. These are supported by isolation movements such as lateral raises and hammer curls to refine shape and target specific muscle heads. Whether you're aiming to improve aesthetics, enhance athletic performance, or support better posture and movement, these workouts help you train smarter and grow stronger.

Best Ab workouts

Ab workouts help strengthen the muscles at the center of your body: your rectus abdominis, obliques, and deep core. This plan combines bodyweight classics like crunches and leg raises with dynamic and weighted variations to challenge your abs from multiple angles. These workouts don’t just sculpt a six-pack: they improve posture, stabilize your spine, and support better performance in nearly every movement. Whether you're a beginner or more advanced, smart ab training supports both aesthetics and functional strength.

Best Core workouts

Core workouts focus on strengthening the muscles that support your spine and stabilize your entire body: your abs, obliques, and lower back. In these workouts, you'll combine bodyweight staples like crunches and planks with resistance-based movements to build both control and power. Whether you're chasing a stronger squat, better posture, or visible definition, core training plays a key role. The goal isn’t just six-pack abs, but a functional, injury-resistant midsection that supports everything you do inside and outside the gym.

Alternative Exercises

Stability Ball Pike Push-Up

The Stability Ball Pike Push-Up challenges shoulder strength and core control by combining a push-up with a controlled pike movement.

Push-up plank with alternating arm and leg lifts

The Push-Up Plank with Alternating Arm and Leg Lifts builds core stability, balance, and full-body control through controlled, opposing movements.

Stability Ball Body Saw

The Stability Ball Body Saw is an advanced core exercise that builds serious abdominal strength by combining plank stability with controlled movement.