Cat-Camel

What you'll gain

• Trains controlled spinal flexion and extension in a low-load quadruped position.

• Needs no equipment, so it fits warm-ups, cool-downs, and travel programming.

• Gives a clear visual of pelvic tilt, which carries into later hinge and brace work.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Kneel on the floor with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders.

2. 2

   Set a long, level spine so the back is neither rounded nor sagging.

3. 3

   Exhale and round the whole spine toward the ceiling, tucking the pelvis and dropping the chin.

4. 4

   Hold the rounded position briefly while the arms stay straight and the hands stay planted.

5. 5

   Inhale and reverse: tilt the pelvis forward, let the belly drop, and lift the chest.

6. 6

   Return to the neutral tabletop and repeat the two phases as a slow cycle.

Common Mistakes

• Locking the elbows and bouncing the whole trunk as one piece instead of moving vertebra by vertebra.

• Forcing the chin to the chest in the rounded phase, which strains the neck.

• Collapsing the shoulders toward the ears instead of keeping them stacked over the hands.

• Rushing the cycle so the spine never actually flexes or extends through its range.

About This Exercise

Cat-camel, also called cat-cow, is a hands-and-knees spinal wave. From a neutral tabletop, the trunk rounds up as the pelvis tucks and the chin drops (the cat), then reverses into a gentle arch as the sit bones lift and the chest opens (the camel). The point is segmental flexion and extension through the thoracic and lumbar spine, not a stiff torso bobbing as one block. The abdominal wall drives the round; the spinal erectors control the arch. As catalog inventory this is a floor mobility clip for warm-ups, cool-downs, and low-back programs. The side camera makes the spinal curve readable, which is the cue app users most often miss.

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