# Cobra Stretch: how to do it

- Main muscles: abs
- Also works: hip flexors, lower back
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/cobra_stretch/d316e1c35d/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Lie face down with your legs straight and the tops of your feet on the floor.
2. Place your hands under your shoulders with your elbows tucked in by your sides.
3. Breathe out and press your hands down to lift your head and chest, keeping your hips on the floor.
4. Hold for 15–30 seconds with your shoulders down, then lower slowly.

## Cues

- Hips stay glued to the floor.
- Shoulders down, away from your ears.
- Lift your chest, not your chin.

## Common mistakes

- Hips coming up: keep your elbows bent and only rise as far as your hips stay down.
- Shrugging: draw your shoulder blades down and back before you lift.
- Looking up at the ceiling: keep your gaze on the floor a little ahead of you.

## The version in our demo

Lying face down, hands under the shoulders, pressing the chest up with the elbows still bent and close to the ribs, hips and pelvis kept on the mat. ACE and Cleveland Clinic both keep the pelvis down and straighten the arms only as far as that allows; a full-arm press-up that lifts the hips is a different, deeper move.

## Starting position

Lying face down on a mat, legs straight and hip width apart (15–20 cm), tops of the feet flat (toes pointing back). Palms flat under the shoulders, fingers forward, elbows bent and tucked in against the ribs. Forehead resting on the mat.

## The movement

Breathe out, press the hips and the tops of the feet into the mat and push through the hands to peel the head, chest and upper belly off the floor, arching the upper and then the lower back. Stop when the front of the belly feels a stretch or when the hips start to lift. Shoulders draw down and back away from the ears; the gaze goes forward, neck long. The pelvis, legs and feet stay on the mat throughout; only the spine and arms move.

## Breathing

Breathe out as you rise; then slow, even breaths in the hold.

## Tempo

Real sets: hold 15–30 s, 2–3 rounds, lowering slowly between them.

## Form in numbers

- Front of the hips and the pubic bone stay on the mat; lower back arched, not pinched.
- Shoulders down, at least 8–10 cm below the ears; shoulder blades drawn back.
- Head in line with the arched spine, gaze about 1–2 m ahead on the floor (neck extension under 15°).
- Legs straight, hip width, tops of the feet down; buttocks firm but not clenched hard.

## Sources

1. [ACE, "Cobra Stretch"](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/16/cobra/)
2. [Cleveland Clinic, "Yoga for Beginners: Get Started Today!"](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/yoga-for-beginners)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/cobra-stretch