Exercise Guide

Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch

Pulling one straight arm across the chest with the other. Thirty seconds of rear delt and upper back relief after a pressing day.

BeginnerStretchingStaticIsolation
Form
Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch - Start position
Start
Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch - Mid position
Mid
Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch - End position
End

Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Details

Primary Muscle

Shoulders

Equipment

Bodyweight

Difficulty

Beginner

Category

Stretching

Force

Static

Mechanic

Isolation

Secondary Muscles

Middle Back
How to Perform
  1. 1

    Stand or sit tall and bring one arm straight across your chest.

  2. 2

    Hook your other forearm under it and draw it in toward you.

  3. 3

    Keep the shoulder of the stretching arm down rather than shrugged.

  4. 4

    Hold, then switch arms.

Tips
  • Keep the stretching arm straight - bending it lets the shoulder escape the stretch.
  • Do not rotate your torso to chase more range.
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