Starkdog's Shoulders Need CW's Help

OUCH!!! Hey Chad, I tried that behind the back praying stretch, and I can’t even get remotely close to that! It’s sad, because I was a competitive swimmer some 12 years back. I used to have remarkable range of motion, but now I can hardly scratch my back. This shoulder inflexibility is keeping me from squatting as well, as I can’t fit under the bar. I can’t retract my shoulders back enough so that my hands can hold the bar; my hands are usually 2-4 inches in front of the bar. What else can I do to get the flexibility back? TIA -Starkdog

I’m having similar issues and it seems like normal stretching is not doing anything to help… I have to keep my hands very wide on the bar and it feels like my arms start to go numb on higher rep sets. I also can’t scratch a large portion of my back. I’m open for any suggestions.

I’ve been trying to do static stretches held for 2 sets of 20 seconds, I do the one where my arm is against a wall and I rotate my body. Is there something else I should try? More sets, more time?