Arm Across the Chest Stretch

Flexopedia > Shoulders

Arm Across the Chest Stretch

Muscle Group(s) Stretched: Shoulders

Muscle Group(s) Strengthened: n/a

Type of Stretch: Passive Static

Difficulty: All-Levels

Suggested Prerequisites: none

This stretch will always remind me of P.E. class, definitely one of the old-school classics that everyone would randomly do when they didn’t know what to stretch XD. The actual purpose of this stretch is to stretch out your posterior delts and some of the other muscles on the backside of your shoulder.

How To

Step 1 (this really is a simple one…)

Keeping your shoulder low (avoid letting the shoulder shrug up towards your ears), hug your arm in toward your upper body until you feel a stretch on the outside/back of your shoulder. You can keep the arm straight, or bend the elbow if you prefer. I like to keep the arm straight and do some wrist circles in that free hand at the same time (multitasking!)

Hold this stretch for 20-30 seconds.

Related Content

• Flexopedia: Robot Arms

• Blog Post: The Importance of “External Shoulder Rotation” in a Backbend

• Blog Post: 5 Drills for Improving Overhead External Shoulder Rotation

• Blog Post: How to Get More Open Shoulders in a Bridge