Upper back exercise
Thread the NeedleHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Upper back
- Also works
- Rear delts
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Thread the Needle?
- Start on your hands and knees with hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Lift one hand and slide it, palm up, under your body towards the other side.
- Bend your supporting elbow and lower that shoulder and the side of your head to the mat.
- Breathe out and creep your fingers a little further, feeling the stretch in your upper back.
- Slide back to the start and repeat, then switch sides.
Cues
- Hips stay over your knees.
- Let your upper back turn.
- Breathe out as you reach.
Common mistakes
- Hips drifting forward: keep your hips over your knees or sink them back.
- Leaning your weight onto your head: let the shoulder take the weight.
- Rushing the move: slide in and out slowly.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
On hands and knees, the right arm slides palm up under the body towards the left until the right shoulder and right side of the head rest on the mat, short hold, then back to the start. This is the plain stretch from physiotherapy libraries; the variant that also opens the arm up to the ceiling is a separate rotation drill and is not shown.
Starting position
On a mat on hands and knees. Hands directly under the shoulders, fingers forward; knees under the hips, hip width apart (15–20 cm); tops of the feet flat. Hip flexion about 90°, shoulder flexion about 90°, spine neutral, head in line, eyes on the floor.
The movement
Shift a little weight onto the left hand. Lift the right hand and slide it palm up along the floor, under the chest and through the gap beside the left hand and left knee. As the arm travels, bend the left elbow and let the upper back turn towards the left so the right shoulder and the right side of the head lower gently onto the mat. Crawl the right fingers a little further on the exhale and hold. Reverse the path to return the right hand under the right shoulder. The hips stay stacked over the knees throughout; only the upper back and arms move.
Breathing
Inhale at the start, long exhale as you thread through and settle.
Tempo
One rep, 7 s: 2 s thread through, 3 s hold with a slow exhale (fingers creep 2–3 cm further), 2 s return to the start. Real sets: 5–8 slow reps or a 20–30 s hold per side.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Left elbow bends to about 70–90°; left hand stays planted.
- Right shoulder and right temple rest on the mat at the end; neck relaxed, not twisted further.
- Hips stay over the knees (hip flexion 90°, up to 100–110° if the hips sink back); pelvis level.
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Thread the Needle is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
