Shoulder & Chest Stretches

Stretching helps maintain good flexibility, which provides positive health benefits: it lowers risk of injury, reduces muscle soreness after exercise, prolongs functional independence, improves quality of life, and improves your body's efficiency in all physical activity. To stretch a specific muscle, you must perform movements in the opposite direction of the muscle's regular movement. Be careful when your muscles are stiff and minimize the number of simultaneous movements for that particular set of muscles.

  1. Seated Shoulder Flexor Depression Retractor Stretch

    • Fully straighten your arms and legs for maximum stretch.

      Sit on the floor or mat with both legs straight out in front of you. Keeping your arms straight, place you palms down on the floor about one foot behind your hips. Maintaining straight arm position, lean backward toward the floor. The primary muscles stretched by this movement are the pectoral major, anterior deltoid, coracobrachialis, biceps brachii and pectoralis minor. Maximize this stretch by keeping your arms straight and moving hands farther from hips.

    One-Arm Shoulder Flexor Stretch

    • Begin this stretch by standing with feet at shoulder-width apart.

      Stand or sit upright on a stool with your left arm behind your back and elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Spread feet shoulder width apart with your toes pointed forward. Grip your left elbow with your right hand and pull your left arm across your back and up toward your right shoulder. Repeat on other side of body. If you cannot reach your elbow, grip your wrist, but be sure to pull up as well as across and always keep the elbow at 90 degrees. If you are not able to do this exercise with an straight back, you may arch your back. This stretch works our left anterior and middle deltoid and left pectoralis major as well as a secondary set of muscles in your shoulder and chest.

    Shoulder Flexor Stretch

    • Lean in with one foot in front of the other.

      Begin this stretch standing upright with feet shoulder width apart, while facing a doorway or corner. With one foot in front of the other, place hands on either side of doorway or one to two feet on each side of corner. Arms should be straight and at shoulder level, with your thumbs on top. Lean your whole body forward feeling the stretch through your chest. Hold position while taking four to five slow breaths. Primarily, this movement stretches your pectoralis major, coracobrachials, biceps brachii and anterior deltoid. You can maximize this stretch by locking your elbows, keeping your spine straight and leaning farther forward. Also, the closer you keep your front foot to your body, the greater the stretch.