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Exercise library / Seated chest stretch

Seated chest stretch

Suggestions, not prescriptions. Exercises here pass automated checks. They have not been clinically reviewed, and no exercise is right for everyone. Adjust to your comfort and ability.

Open your chest with your arms out to the sides. It eases the rounded-forward feeling from sitting.

Main focus
Flexibility
Level
Starting
Equipment
Bodyweight, A sturdy chair
Load
Your body weight
Stability
Supported by a seat, bench or wall
Before you start
  • Warm up first with a minute or two of easy walking or marching in place, and cool down the same way after.
  • Wear flat, closed shoes with a good grip, or go barefoot on a non-slip floor if that feels steady to you.
  • Clear the floor around you. Keep a sturdy chair, counter or wall within reach for any move you do standing.
  • Build up slowly. Add repetitions or minutes over weeks, not days. If you take a break, work back up gradually.

Talk with a doctor or physical therapist before you start if you have not been active for some time, if you have a health condition or a worry about exercise, if you have fallen or fear falling, or if a clinician has told you to limit activity. This library is general information, not medical advice.

What you need

A stable chair without wheels.

How to do it

  1. Sit tall, away from the chair back, feet flat. Draw your shoulders back and down.
  2. Hold your arms out to the sides.
  3. Gently press your chest forward and up until you feel a stretch across your chest.
  4. Hold, breathe, and relax.

How much

To start: Hold 5 seconds. Repeat 3 times.

As it gets easier: Hold 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times.

How it should feel: A mild stretch. Never sharp, never painful.

Make it easier

  • Hold your arms lower.
  • Hold for a shorter time.

Make it harder

  • Hold a few seconds longer.

Safety

  • Do not lean back into the chair.
  • Keep your neck long and your chin level.
  • Keep breathing.

When to stop

  • Stop and rest if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sick to your stomach, or unusually short of breath.
  • Stop if you feel sharp, sudden or joint pain. Muscles working hard is expected. Pain is a signal to stop.
  • Stop and sit down if you feel unsteady and cannot settle yourself right away.
  • Call your local emergency number for chest pain or pressure, fainting, or sudden weakness, numbness or trouble speaking.
  • After any of these, do not repeat the exercise until you have talked with a doctor or physical therapist.
  • You feel pinching in a shoulder.
  • You feel tingling or numbness in your arms or hands.

Connected exercises

Other ways to do this movement

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Where this comes from

NHS "Chest stretch": sit upright away from the chair back, shoulders back and down, arms out to the side, push chest forward and up, hold 5 to 10 seconds, repeat 5 times. NIA: stretch warm muscles, keep breathing, do not stretch so far it hurts. Steps, counts and support advice follow the NHS page; wording and extra safety notes are Fitafter50's own.

This is general information, not medical advice. It does not diagnose anything or tell you whether an exercise is right for you. Adjust to your comfort and ability.