Upper Body Prep: Chest Stretches

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12/02/2024
Noah Soliman

Whether you’re warming up for a baseball fixture or psyching yourself up for a bench PR, it’s important to perform some fundamental chest stretches to engage your pecs ahead of intense activation. However, outside of physical activity, a long day hunched at your desk puts prolonged and unnecessary pressure on your chest, causing it to become tight and uncomfortable. The holistic nature of your chest muscles makes it imperative that we incorporate at least a few chest opening stretches and chest mobility exercises into our days – minimising discomfort and maximising on- and off-field performances. In this episode, we’ll look at some of PhysioFrog’s chosen stretches for chest tightness that you can integrate ahead of physical activity or work for optimal comfort and wellbeing!

Understanding the Pectorals

Your chest is home to four muscles: the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and the subclavius. The function of these muscles is listed below.

Pectoralis Major: Internal rotation of the upper arm.
Pectoralis Minor: Stabilisation of the collarbone.
Serratus Anterior: Rotation of the collarbone.
Subclavius: Positioning of the collarbone.

It is crucial that, because of these functions, the health of your pecs is maintained when pursuing sports such as baseball, basketball, weightlifting, and swimming. Not only will it ensure longevity (without discomfort) during play, but also refined and accurate neuromuscular connection – enabling higher accuracy with your throwing

Why Chest Stretching Exercises?

Stretching muscles has been a staple in sporting preparation and physical wellbeing for decades – but what is the clinical reasoning behind it? Stretching does temporarily increase your muscle length, enabling it to tolerate higher forces when in extension. On top of this, there is a sensation of comfort and relaxation associated with stretching, allowing athletes to feel more confident ahead of their games. This is likely because stretching promotes blood flow to your recipient muscles and activates your parasympathetic nervous system.

Research has shown that consistent stretching over a long period of time (e.g. weeks) increases the recipient muscles’ strength – enhancing athletic performance. However, stretching immediately before physical activity is said to temporarily reduce muscular strength. When applying this to your chest, it is with this reason that chest warm up exercises just before a PR attempt should avoid stretching, but chest opening stretches should be performed outside of chest day. This similar reasoning can also be applied to sports mentioned earlier.

PhysioFrog’s Best Chest Stretches

With these learnings under our belt, it’ll make performing these exercises more meaningful and worthwhile. The following exercises are some of the most thorough and effective exercises at relieving any tension around your pecs. Their 3D muscle-body animations with recommended reps and intensities are available on physiofrog.io.

Single-Pec Stretch: This exercise is a great on-the-go stretch, enabling you to relieve any surface-level tension in your chest. We strongly recommend this exercise if you’re hunched over at a desk for long periods.

How to Perform:

(1) Face a wall with your feet shoulder width apart.

(2) Place your palm flat on the wall so it’s parallel with your shoulder.

(3) Twist your upper body outwards, feeling the stretch in your pec.

Bow Pose: This is a powerful stretch that will look to relieve tension deep in your chest.

How to Perform:

(1) Begin lying on your stomach with your arms straight by your side and legs straight.

(2) With your shoulders back and arms maintained straight, grab your ankles to make a ‘U’ shape with your body.

(3) Use your back and core to lift your chest up, and hold.

World’s Greatest Stretch: This exercise was named as the ‘greatest’ because it targets multiple muscles within one movement – one of them being the chest! A great chest opener stretch that saves time!

How to Perform:

(1) Keeping hips back and legs straight, move down into a plank position.

(2) Place your target foot on the outside of your arm.

(3) Squeeze your glutes whilst moving your elbows towards the ground before rotating your arm up and out.

(4) Step your front foot back and return to standing.

We recommend integrating these exercises into an existing workout routine to remove the friction associated with starting a new habit. This can be any workout routine, especially as the latest research suggests frequently stretched muscles have better performance outcomes than muscles stretched immediately before the main event.

Comfort & Performance

Your chest is a significant muscle group in your upper body, with its health largely determining your athletic and physical output. Therefore, it is important to treat them with the same respect you’d do with your lower body muscles when preparing for a run, for example.

If you engage in one of the sports mentioned earlier (baseball, basketball, weightlifting, swimming) on a weekly basis, we strongly recommend performing a set of upper body stretching routines – that include some of PhysioFrog’s chest stretches – to maximise your in-game performances and to treat any discomforts endured post-competition. For personalised exercise routines recommended based on your age, sex, occupation, and activities played, check out physiofrog.io – our exercises cover strength and endurance, alongside mobility.

When approaching these exercises, your outlook should be proper form and consistency as this will reap the best outcomes. Furthermore, proper hydration has shown to improve muscle pliability which will intensify the benefits of stretching. Stretching has shown strong correlations with bodily relaxation, so look to apply this with an ambient atmosphere and scented candles for a more yoga-like experience.

To ensure you’re optimising for muscle comfort and performance, here is a summary of additional measures you can put in place when performing your chest stretching exercises:

Proper Form: Focus on performing the stretches with control and intention to maximise exercise’s benefits.
Consistency: Performing these exercises on two different occasions (weekly) around your main upper body fixture is ideal.
Hydration: Proper hydration leads to more pliable and healthy muscles.
Relaxation: Consider implementing these exercises into a yoga setting to intensify those relaxing feelings.

The science doesn’t lie; integrate some form of stretching to your fitness lifestyle to enhance your comfort and performance on and off the field. For the exercises (+ more) mentioned above, check out PhysioFrog’s library of muscle strength, endurance, and mobility exercises here! Take care of your chest, and good luck with your upper body endeavours!

Thanks for reading,

Noah Soliman, Principal @ PhysioFrog

Get to grips with the physiology and mechanisms behind our warm-ups, and learn how their applications can maximise your on-field performances. Along with the physical benefits of muscle preparation, get an insight into its psychological benefits to truly understand your mind and body!