Prayer Stretch on a Bench: Loosen Tight Shoulders

Many of us struggle with tight lats and triceps. We use these muscles for lots of exercises, and they can get stiff when we sit all day at work. The bad news: Over time, tight lats and tris can negatively impact our shoulder mobility and contribute to pain in our shoulders, neck or lower back.

But there’s good news, too. You can loosen up your upper back, arms and shoulders — and improve your shoulder mobility — using a drill called the bench prayer stretch.

The bench prayer stretch, also known as the bench thoracic spine mobilization, is a simple drill where you place your elbows on a bench and rock backward to stretch your upper body.

You can use this exercise to stretch your back and arms, and it can also improve mobility in your thoracic spine and shoulders.

The prayer stretch primarily stretches your latissimus dorsi and the long head of your triceps. You may also feel some stretching in your neck and glutes along with activation of your core muscles.

Add it to your warmup, workouts or daily mobility routine to move better now — in and out of the gym.

The prayer stretch on a bench is very effective at stretching your lats, which are the large muscles that span most of your middle back. You can also use it to relax tight triceps.

Both of these muscles see lots of action at the gym because you use them in so many different exercises. Tight lats and triceps can both limit joint mobility and potentially contribute to aches and pains.

You can use the bench prayer stretch to loosen up so you feel better in and out of the gym. For best results, do this at least once or twice a week. Consistent practice is essential to see lasting benefits.

Your thoracic spine is the portion of your spine running from the bottom of your ribs up to your neck. This area should be able to easily flex (bend), extend (arch) and rotate.

T-spine mobility is an essential if you want to keep your neck, shoulders and low back healthy. Unfortunately, many factors can make your T-spine more stiff. Lack of use, too much sitting in front of a computer and even an unbalanced training program can all contribute to T-spine mobility limitations.

The bench prayer stretch can help you reclaim mobility here, particularly your ability to extend. Focus on gently arching your upper back each time you perform the stretch.

The combination of looser lats and triceps plus improved T-spine mobility often leads to better overhead mobility. That’s because you need to be able to extend your T-spine and lengthen your arms in order to push or pull weights overhead.

If you struggle to get your arms overhead without bending your elbows or arching your lower back, the bench prayer stretch can help.

The prayer stretch is the perfect addition to your pre-strength training warmup. If you’re using this before you train, use the dynamic version where you actively rock back and forth. Perform 1 to 2 sets of 5 to 10 reps.

You can sprinkle sets of prayer stretches throughout your workout to stay loose using a strategy called active rest. This is where you perform stretches or drills in between sets of strength exercises to sneak in extra mobility work.

The bench prayer stretch works particularly well paired with exercises that restrict T-spine movement, such as the barbell and dumbbell bench press. You could also use it with overhead pushing and pulling movements, like overhead press or chin-ups.

If you already have a daily stretching or mobility routine, it’s easy to add the bench prayer stretch. Try performing the static version where you hold the stretch position for 30 to 60 seconds. You can use a sturdy couch or chair if you’re doing this at home.