What you'll gain

Opens the entire front of the core through deep spinal extension.
Releases hip flexor tightness from sitting or running.
Improves overhead and bench-press positioning by restoring thoracic mobility.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1
Lie face down on the floor with your legs extended behind you and your palms flat under your shoulders.
2
Press through your hands to lift your chest off the floor, keeping your hips and thighs grounded.
3
Pull your shoulders down and away from your ears to open the chest and deepen the stretch through the abs.
4
Hold the lifted position for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing slowly and letting the stretch settle.
5
Lower your torso back down with control, never letting your chest drop suddenly to the floor.
6
Repeat for 3 to 4 rounds, going slightly higher each time as your body warms up.

Common Mistakes

Shrugging the shoulders up to the ears, which compresses the neck and limits how far the chest can open.
Lifting the hips off the floor early, which removes the stretch from the abdominal wall.
Holding the breath through the position rather than breathing deeply into the belly to deepen the release.
Forcing maximum extension on the first rep — the body needs a few warm-up rounds before deeper range is safe.

About This Exercise

This is the deepest abdominal stretch in the set — a prone, cobra-style position that uses gravity and spinal extension to fully open the front of the core. It works the rectus abdominis, the obliques, and the hip flexor complex in one piece, making it especially useful after long sitting blocks or heavy core training. For app and content use, this clip earns its place in recovery flows, advanced mobility programs, and yoga-adjacent stretching content. The floor position reads clearly at small sizes, which makes it good for thumbnails and library covers in addition to its in-flow role.

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