Find your true overhead reach with a light pipe.
Keep your ribs down, don't arch your back to fake more range.
Raising a pipe from your thighs to overhead with straight arms and a braced trunk measures your genuine shoulder flexion, no back arch, no rib flare, no cheating. The shoulders do all the lifting while the pipe keeps both arms moving on the same track. It earns its place as both a test and a fix, revealing exactly where your overhead range stops and grooving more of it a few honest reps at a time.
Your spine is donating range your shoulders don't have. Brace your core, keep ribs stacked over hips, and accept the shorter range, that is your real overhead position and the one worth training.
Ideally directly over your shoulders with arms straight and trunk neutral. If it stops short, that gap is your homework, work at the end range with slow reps rather than forcing past it.
Yes, it is light enough for daily practice. A set or two before overhead sessions and on rest days adds up quickly for stiff shoulders.
