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Cross Body Shoulder Stretch

Pull one arm across your chest. Half a minute per side after push ups and your shoulders will thank you the next morning.

Level Beginner
Equipment None
Sets and reps 2 sets x 30 sec each arm
Works on Shoulders, upper back

How to do it

  1. Stand or sit tall with your shoulders relaxed and down.
  2. Bring your right arm straight across your chest.
  3. Hook your left forearm under it and draw it in gently.
  4. Keep the right shoulder down, not shrugged. Hold, then swap.

Common mistakes

  • × Letting the shoulder ride up towards the ear.
  • × Pulling on the elbow joint itself rather than the upper arm.
  • × Twisting the body instead of moving the arm.
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One thing that matters

Breathe out slowly while you hold. The muscle lets go a little more with every breath out.

How much

Sets and reps for Cross Body Shoulder Stretch

Where you are Aim for
Just starting 2 sets x 20 sec each arm
The standard 2 sets x 30 sec each arm
Once it is easy 2 sets x 45 sec each arm
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Breathing

Out as you draw the arm across, then breathe normally through the hold.

Questions

Cross Body Shoulder Stretch, answered

When should I do this stretch?

After push-ups, planks or anything that loaded the shoulders, and at the end of a long day at a desk.

I feel a pinch in the shoulder joint.

Lower the arm slightly and pull across at chest height rather than shoulder height. A pinch inside the joint is not a stretch and should not be pushed through.

Which hand should pull?

The opposite one, hooked below the elbow rather than on top of it. Pulling on the elbow itself levers the joint instead of stretching the muscle.

One exercise is never the whole story

Which day to do Cross Body Shoulder 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

Cobra Stretch

Abs, lower back

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

2 x 20-30 sec →
🧘 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 →
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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.