Open Book Rotation

What you'll gain

• Trains thoracic rotation while the stacked knees keep the lumbar spine quiet.

• Needs no kit beyond a towel, so it fits warm-ups anywhere.

• Pairs well with overhead and rotational lifting as a daily reset.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Lie on your side with hips and knees bent and a folded towel under your head.

2. 2

   Stack both arms in front of the chest at about shoulder height.

3. 3

   Keep the knees glued together so the pelvis stays on its side.

4. 4

   Sweep the top arm in a wide arc across the chest and open toward the floor behind you.

5. 5

   Let the head and eyes follow the moving hand as the chest turns up.

6. 6

   Return the top hand to the bottom hand and repeat, then switch sides.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the top knee lift, which rotates the hips instead of the mid-back.

• Pushing only the hand behind you while the chest stays closed.

• Forcing the top shoulder to the floor through a painful range.

• Leaving the head facing forward instead of turning with the arm.

About This Exercise

The open book rotation is a side-lying mobility drill. You lie on one side with the hips and knees bent, arms stacked in front, and a folded towel under the head. The top arm sweeps in a wide arc so the chest turns toward the ceiling while the knees stay pinned. The drill loosens mid-back rotation. Keep the stacked-knee base so the motion stays in the rib cage instead of the lumbar spine. For a catalog this is the towel-only, no-mat sibling of Open Book Rotations. It fits warm-up mobility blocks, thoracic-rotation libraries, and desk-posture resets where the asset shows a single head towel and no floor mat.

Looking for an exercise animation collection for your app, coaching platform, or content workflow? MoveKit gives you consistent quality across every movement so your product feels cohesive from first launch through scale.

Build faster with related MoveKit resources