Fix Yo Posture: The Prone Cobra

A Little About Posture

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We all know that our posture sucks. We sit at our desks all day typing away, scrolling instagram, or reading blogs ;), with a slouched position. While it seems like the most comfortable position to be in, it wreaks havoc on our joints and causes numerous biomechanical misalignments in our system like forward head posture, increased spinal curvatures, nerve entrapment, and many others. 

So what can we do about it? For one, stretch those tight muscles and mobilize the joints that get stuck in place. For many of us, since we are in a forward leaning, rounded posture, it is difficult for us to get in a completely extended, upright position - which is demanded for some activities like serving a tennis ball, reaching overhead, keeping good posture in a deadlift, etc. 

But we also need to strengthen the muscles that get long and weak in these positions like the backside of the shoulder, flexors of the neck, abdominals, and glutes. Enter the Prone Cobra Exercise

The Prone Cobra

One of the foundational exercises I have many of my clients (including myself) this movement helps condition the postural muscles that keep our spine upright in extension, the posterior shoulder, and surprisingly the front side of our neck. And all that is needed is a space on the ground and a timer for a great stimulus to condition proper alignment of the body!

What to Do:

  1. Lie face down on the ground with arms at your side and with a timer.

  2. Inhale and lift you chest off the ground, pulling your shoulders back, pinching the shoulder blades together while rotating your thumbs away from you - effectively externally rotating your shoulders.

  3. Keep your head in alignment with your spine and retract your head back (as it probably will want to drift forward with gravity)

  4. Keep your toes on the ground 

  5. Hold as long as you can with perfect form 

  6. Record the time and rest for half that

  7. Repeat for 3-4 reps 

Note: if you experience low back pain during this - try squeezing your glutes first to limit the amount of motion in the low back.

You can also perform these on a Swiss Ball for more range of motion and the ability to modify the intensity by moving the ball closer to your hips. Be careful not to fall over!!

Try adding these as a superset with a push movement like pushups or shoulder-press to support good posture.

Hope you guys enjoyed this and will implement the prone cobra in your corrective exercise routine!

Keep  it movin’!

Matt Grebosky