Shoulders · At the wall

Wall shoulder stretch

Hands flat on the wall above your head, you walk your feet back until your back is flat, your torso roughly parallel to the floor. Then you let your chest sink gently between your arms, and you hold.

In a handstand, your arms have to come in line with your body, ears between your arms. When your shoulders don't open enough, your arms stay in front and your back arches to finish the line, the famous banana. This stretch works directly on that opening, and all you need is a wall.

Family

Shoulders

Equipment

A wall

Type

Hold

Train this exercise in the app

How to do it

1. Facing the wall, place your hands flat on it above your head, then walk your feet back until your back is flat.
2. Round your upper back slightly to keep your lower back neutral.
3. Gently push your shoulders down, arms staying overhead, ears between your arms.
4. Hold the position and breathe slowly.

Two mistakes to avoid

Arching your lower back to go lower. Your belly pushes forward, your ribs flare, and your chest gains a few centimeters. Those centimeters come from your back arching, the exact compensation you want to avoid upside down. Tuck your ribs in and accept not going as low.

Forcing it all at once. A shoulder pushed abruptly to the end of its range tenses up and won't let go. Go down gradually, breathing, and gain range little by little from one breath to the next.

Related exercises

Wall arm slidesBack to the wall, forearms against it, you slide your arms down and up without anything coming off the wall.ShouldersMobilityPike holdHands and feet on the floor, hips high: the simplest version of that right angle, the one that teaches your shoulders to carry.ShouldersHoldChest-to-wall holdChest facing the wall, only the toes touching: the position where you learn the right line.ShouldersHold

All exercises: the catalog