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Cobra Stretch

Essential after any ab work. It also gives your lower back some relief.

Level Beginner
Equipment None
Sets and reps 2 x 20-30 sec
Works on Abs, lower back

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with your hands under your shoulders.
  2. Press through your hands to lift your chest.
  3. Keep your hips on the floor.
  4. Look up and hold for 20-30 seconds.

Common mistakes

  • × Letting your shoulders creep up to your ears - press them down.
  • × Lifting the hips - they should stay on the floor.
  • × Pushing up so far that the lower back pinches - come down a little.
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One thing that matters

If you have any existing back issues, do not push too far up.

How much

Sets and reps for Cobra Stretch

Where you are Aim for
Just starting 2 x 15 sec, forearms down
The standard 2 x 20-30 sec
Once it is easy 2 x 40 sec, arms straight
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Breathing

In as you press up, out as you settle. Never hold your breath in a back bend.

Questions

Cobra Stretch, answered

What does the cobra stretch do?

It opens the front of the hips and the abdominal wall, and extends a spine that has spent all day rounded forward. It is the natural counter to sitting.

My lower back pinches. What now?

Come down onto your forearms instead of straight arms, and press your hips into the floor. Pinching means you are bending mostly at one point in the lower back rather than spreading it out.

Is this the same as upward dog?

Close, but in a cobra the hips and legs stay on the floor. Upward dog lifts the thighs, which asks more of the lower back and the shoulders.

One exercise is never the whole story

Which day to do Cobra Stretch, how many sets, and what to pair it with - the AI builds the whole plan. Your first one is free.

Build My Free Plan
Stretching

You can also try

🧘 Beginner

Hamstring Stretch

Back of the thigh

Sitting all day tightens the back of your thighs. This is what opens them up again.

2 x 30 sec each leg →
🧘 Beginner

Child's Pose

Lower back, shoulders

The very last thing you do. It cools you down and opens up your lower back.

1 x 60 sec →
🧘 Beginner

Standing Quad Stretch

Front of the thigh

Pull one heel to your backside. The front of the thigh takes a beating from squats and lunges, and this is how you give it back.

2 sets x 30 sec each leg →
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This is general information, not medical advice

Everything on this page is worked out from a formula or from published averages. It has never met you, and it cannot see your blood pressure, your medication or an old injury.

Talk to a doctor before you start if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a heart condition, diabetes or high blood pressure, take regular medication, have or have had an eating disorder, are recovering from injury or surgery, or are under 18. Stop and get advice if any exercise causes pain, dizziness or chest discomfort.

More about where these numbers come from is on the about page.