Stretch of the Week: Forearm Wall Stretch

This weeks stretch is called forearm wall stretch. It’s not so much a forearm stretch as it is a shoulder, upper back and chest stretch. The only thing you’ll need for this stretch is a sturdy wall 🙂

I don’t recommend the stretch for people with severe shoulder injuries or upper back injuries.

 How to do the Forearm Wall Stretch:

This is a pretty straight forward stretch.

1. Begin by facing a wall with a few feet of distance between yourself and the wall. You will have to play with the distance here because everyone’s torso length is different.
2. Hinge at the waist and place your forearms on the wall, fingers pointed towards the ceiling, and elbows not more then shoulder distance apart.
3. You want your elbows, shoulders and hips to be in line, and then your hips, ankles, and feet to be in line, making a 90° angle as best you can. (As shown in the top left photo).
4. Now the tendency here is for people to jut their chin towards the floor which can cause a strain on the neck. You want your neck to stay in line with your spine.
5. Some other common mistakes people make here are bowing in the back and having their feet too far from the wall, as shown in the top right photo. Please don’t do this as it can cause a strain on the low back.
6. My advice would be to have another person present to tell you if you are not in line or have a mirror handy that you can see yourself in. You want to melt your heart towards the floor here but you want to keep your abdominal muscles engaged so that you stay in a straight line with your spine.
7. The head needs to stay in line with spine as well.
8. You will most likely feel the stretch in your triceps, pectoral muscles, lats, and maybe even into the upper back some. Stay here for 30 seconds or a couple minutes whatever you prefer.

Tip: if you are having trouble keeping your elbows in line with your shoulders as shown in the very bottom photo, you can place a strap or belt around the triceps just above the elbows to keep them from flaring out.

Questions or concerns? Email me at rlackowski@athletico.com !