Stretch of the Week: Chair Lat Stretch

This week’s stretch is chair lat stretch. It’s a great one to do at work if you sit at a desk all day, so take a break! I sometimes will even do this stretch at my kitchen counter 🙂 The only contraindication for this stretch is if you have a shoulder injury where you can not raise the arm overhead without pain. In which case, please refrain from performing this weeks stretch.

How to:

1. Grab a sturdy chair and stand behind it. Place you hands on the back of the chair and walk back a few steps until you make an L shape with your body, as shown in the top photo below.

Tip: if you’re not sure if your in an L shape ask someone to look at your alignment, or use a mirror; make sure your ankles, knees and hips are in line, and that your hips, shoulders, and wrists are in line. 

2. Once you’re in position, allow the wrists to come to the back of the chair, and rotate the palms towards each other. This encourages external rotation which is better for your joint than internal rotation.

3. Bring the belly button to the spine and zip the muscles up the front of your body. This brings stability to the stretch. You don’t want the torso to sag to the floor or allow the head to reach toward the floor as shown on the bottom photo. No bending of the knees either, keep the legs active, reaching the feet into the ground.

4. Stay here for a minute or two, or however long you like, and enjoy the stillness this stretch brings you.