Exercises You Should Be Doing: Prone Sphinx
If you were talking to twelve year old Tony, the Prone Sphinx sounds like some sweet WWF Wrestling move that Hulk Hogan or Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka would perform on one of their opponents during WrestleMania.
Alas, I’m not twelve, and don’t watch WrestleMania on Mondays anymore, so in this context it refers to the mythical creature that has the head of a human and the body of a lion. You know, real life.=
Kidding aside, the Prone Sphinx is the name of an exercise I feel has a lot of merit and usefulness.
Who Did I Steal It From: Dr. Mark Cheng in his Prehab=Rehab 101 DVD.
What Does It Do: It’s an awesome drill that helps to improve scapular stability in addition to core stability, and with certain progressions works on t-spine mobility and pectoral length.
Key Coaching Cues: Due to the position of the exercise you’d have to clear someone of extension-based back pain before implementing it, but assuming there’s no issues some things to consider:
1. It’s important to reset the scapulae prior to each rep. This ensures that no shrugging occurs and that the shoulders are packed.
2. The non-moving side must remain packed throughout!
3. Don’t rush through the progressions. This drill is a lot harder than it looks.
4. Probably best used as part of an extended warm-up or as a filler exercise for most people. But I could see this exercise being used as a “main movement” for some.
Prone Sphinx
Comments for This Entry
monday « Jenn Harris
[…] Prone Sphinx; 5/side x4; Rest 90 seconds between sides – http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/04/exercises-you-should-be-doing-prone-sphinx/ […]April 16, 2015 at 11:08 am |
monday « Jenn Harris
[…] Prone Sphinx; 8/side x4; Rest 90 seconds between sides – http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/04/exercises-you-should-be-doing-prone-sphinx/ […]April 22, 2015 at 7:08 pm |
Andrea Rodgers
Using this in 5 min with my stress ball client. As always, best info out there for trainers.April 23, 2015 at 6:00 am |
TonyGentilcore
Thanks Andrea. Hope all is well on your end.April 23, 2015 at 1:29 pm |
monday « Jenn Harris
[…] Prone Sphinx; 8/side x4; Rest 90 seconds between sides – http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/04/exercises-you-should-be-doing-prone-sphinx/ Completed D. Trap 3 raise @1113; 3-5×5; Rest 75 seconds – […]May 5, 2015 at 3:05 am |
9/27 | Alex :)
[…] Prone sphinx; 3×10; Rest as needed – http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/04/exercises-you-should-be-doing-prone-sphinx/ – 10 per side, 3 sets, reach out to the […]September 27, 2015 at 5:37 pm |
Evercore Physical Therapy
As a physical therapist, I use the prone sphinx position to reintroduce back extension for my clients who were previously sensitive to that direction of movement. These variations you shared from Dr. Mark Cheng are absolute gold for prehab and rehab. Thanks for the coaching cues too. - Dr. Marc Robinson, PT, DPT, Cert. MDTApril 4, 2019 at 12:13 pm |