Ab wheel rollouts are a common choice for those looking to work their (anterior) core muscles. The main objective of the exercise of course is to make you hate life resist too much extension of the lower back.
In short: It can be considered a (mostly) anti-extension exercise.
Today I wanted to quickly share two different variations:
One entry level (that pretty much anyone can perform, and serves as a nice starting point for most).
One John Wick level (that pretty much only world class assassins can pull off).
I’d be remiss not to at least go into some detail on proper set-up and technique of a standard ab wheel rollout. There’s no since in re-inventing the wheel (👈 ha, I love puns) here, because I actually posted about this on my IG feed not too long ago:
That said, performing a rollout on the floor can still be a rather aggressive choice for many people to start off with. Most lack the requisite strength/stability to get remotely close to the floor which can be deflating. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather try my best to demonstrate as much success as possible to a new client rather than make him/her feel like something is too challenging or out of reach.
Or, worse case: Painful.
To that point, I came up with the following regression that I feel works really well:
Incline Rollout
These are a great entry point for people just starting out with rollouts as the inclination helps to keep them from “falling” into their lower back excessively.
For those of you looking for something a bit more challenging I offer this:
Anchored Rollouts
Giving credit where it’s due: I originally got this one from strength coach Mike Volkmar and upon seeing it for the first time was like 1) this is awesome and 2) I’m an asshat for never thinking of this myself.
As he points out, anchoring the ankles against the band activates the hamstrings, turning off the hip flexors.
As a result, climate change is resolved!
YAY. WE DID IT EVERYONE. Congrats.
(In all seriousness, give these two variations a try and let me know what you think).
Right off the bat some of you reading may be thinking to yourselves…
…”wait a second. Since when does Tony write about bench pressing? He’s awful at it and has gone out of his way numerous times to say how much he hates doing them.”
1. You’re not wrong. I am awful at benching.
2. Despite this annoying fact, I still do it.
3. However, hate is an aggressive term to use here:
Nazis? Yes.
That sense of utter doom & defeat I feel whenever a random stranger finds out what I do for a living and inevitably goes on a tear about how he/she just can’t seem to lose any weight? Uh, yep.
Admittedly, when it comes to the “big 3” – deadlift, squat, bench press – the latter has been the one exercise throughout my training career that I’ve been able to brag about the least on social media.
It’s hard to explain.
I’ve never been quite as enamored with the bench press as my fellow y-chromosome having brethren.
Actually, come to think of it: DNA makeup has nothing to do with anything. I know many women, my wife included, who love to bench press.
Mondays, while commonly referred to as “International Bench Press Day,” may as well be “National Tibialis Anterior Day” or, I don’t know, “National Share Your Favorite Kale Smoothie Recipe Day” if you ask me.
I can’t pinpoint my disdain, but if I had to choose a culprit, like, if you said to me “Tony, I am going to march over to your parents’ house in New York and burn your entire baseball card collection if you don’t give me a legitimate reason why you dislike the bench press” then I guess my scapegoat would be…
…..
….
…my leverages?
I have some long as arms.
Great for deadlifting; not so much for benching.
That said, I’m not a psychopath. I still including bench pressing in my training programs and while it’s nothing to brag about, certainly by powerlifting standards, I’ve been able to build up to a max of 315 lbs.
However, the more cogent talking point here is that I have many clients and athletes who, whether it’s from a performance standpoint or aesthetics, are very much interested in building their bench press.
I’m a coach and can do that…;o)
Step One is almost always going to be breaking down one’s set-up and having them pay more attention to that.
Step Two to building a better bench press is to ascertain where someone’s technique tends to breaks down and/or to address any weaknesses that may exist and then use that information to choose the appropriate accessory movements to utilize.
One drill I often use is the Spoto Press
The Spoto Press was popularized (and named after) bench press Captain America, Eric Spoto.
The premise is simple: You stop the barbell a few inches above your chest, pause for a second or two, and then press it back up to lockout.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
It’s also been referred to by other names:
1. Invisible Board Press
By those who are impeccable exercise name givers, and recognize its value as a bonafide bench press accessory movement.
2. Cheating
By those who are dorks and fail to realize that the guy whom it’s named after used it almost exclusively to build a 722 lb bench, unequipped.
Go ahead, please do inform Mr. Spoto how he’s cheating.
I’ll wait.
NOTE: The Spoto Press should NOT be confused with half reps. 99.2% of the time you see someone doing these in a commercial gym it’s because there’s too much weight on the bar and their ego can’t fathom taking some off.
Most have no idea who Eric Spoto is.
For all they know he’s their mom’s second cousin’s accountant’s pool guy.
Why I Like the Spoto Press
1. It Addresses Most Lifters’ Weak Area
Ask most lifters when they miss a bench press attempt WHERE they miss it, and you’ll likely hear a cacophony of “an inch or two off the chest.”
The Spoto Press forces people to spend more time in a ROM where they tend to be weakest. Moreover, it doesn’t allow you to utilize the “rebound effect” as you catapult the barbell off your rib cage…😉
2. Helps With Upper Back “Tightness”
A lot of lifters lose upper back tightness (arch) and their chest tends to cave in and their shoulders roll forward as they lower the barbell.
The Spoto Press is a good tool to help lifters learn to “meet the bar with their chest” rather than just haphazardly lowering it.
3. Great Option If Benching Bothers Your Shoulders
Assuming technique is not the issue, for anyone who’s shoulders tend to hate full-ROM bench pressing, this variation is often a stellar entry point for them.
4. Triceps!
Lastly, the Spoto Press is a damn good tricep builder. The triceps can be a weak link, especially toward lockout. This variation can help solve that
I spoke with He-Man about it. He concurs.
How to Implement It
I typically stay in the 60-80% of 1-rep max range with this exercise, and LOVE it for high(er) rep ranges. After your regular bench, follow that with 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps of Spoto Presses at 60-75%.
If you’re feeling extra motivated utilize a close grip. However, if you do so, err more on the side of conservative on that percentage scale.
Give them a try, I think you’ll dig them.
Strategic Strength Workshop – Philadelphia, PA (September 2021)
I’ve always felt 1-Leg RDL variations are difficult to master for most people. They’re an advanced exercise, and not something most people can pull off on day #1.
(AHEM: Which is why I wrote THIS post showcasing how to progress the movement).
It takes a lot of balance and coordination to pull off, and frankly, let’s be honest: Most people can barely make a peanut butter sandwich without falling over…😉😂
Kickstand (or B-Stance) variations, however, still give off the “vibe” of isolating one leg (the front leg is still doing 80% of the work), but also still providing the support or balance many people need to perform well.
In short: You get “most” of the benefit of performing a 1-leg variation, without the annoyance of grace, balance, athleticism, and genetic superiority resembling a drunk pirate.
Who Did I Steal It From? – The adding the band part was a tip I stole from Joel Seedman.
What Does It Do? – I explained the “kickstand” rationale above. Adding the band to overload the ECCENTRIC (lowering) portion forces the lifter to stay tight/engaged and to control the descent.
In this sense, you’re “accentuating” the yielding component of the lift, which, not coincidentally, is also the part of the lift where we can handle the most load.
Too, controlling the lowering portion emphasizes time under tension…an important factor in muscle growth.
You’ll also notice I add a “hover pause” about an inch or two above the floor.
This is a nifty trick to 1) help people stay tight and not lose their upper back position and 2) make you or your clients hate life.
Key Coaching Cues – Don’t die. That’s pretty much it.
Add this drill as an accessory lift on your lower body days, for say, 3-4 sets of 5-6 repetitions per leg.
Without going too far down the rabbit hole (and without a PubMed reference in site), I have been “caught” saying a time or two that 99% of the shoulder issues I come across – whether working with an overhead athlete or Martin from Tort-Law-R-Us1 – has it’s roots in what the shoulder blades are (or in most cases) are not doing.
For a myriad of reasons most of us have been programmed to think that “shoulder blades together AND down” is the end-all-be-all of shoulder health.
It works splendidly when 1) you’re working with someone who’s stuck in a more flexed/rounded/computer guy posture and/or 2) the goal is to lift as much weight as humanly possible.
I.e., good luck bench pressing (or even squatting/deadlifting) appreciable weight with shoulder blades that aren’t “set” in a more stable position.
That being said, too much of anything can have its inherent drawbacks.2
The “together and down” cue can lead to overactive lats and a more extension-based pattern where the shoulder blades get stuck or “cemented” together – making it all the more challenging for them to freely move about the rib cage (which they’re designed to do).
The scapulae are meant to move:
Upward/downward rotation
Protraction/retraction
Anterior/posterior tilt
However, they often get “stuck” in a more downwardly rotated and retracted position from all the “down and back” cueing we’ve been inundated with.
One drill I have been using to help “un-glue” the shoulder blades is this one:
Band Assisted Scapular Upward Rotation
Who Did I Steal It From? – Dr. Michael Mash from his excellent Barbell Rehab course.
What Does It Do? This is such a simple drill to implement and works well with pretty much everyone. Except Orcs (for obvious reasons).
The pulldown trains scapular downward rotation and retraction, which is all well and good. I’m not a hater. It’s the reverse action, though, using the accentuated eccentric to emphasize scapular PROTRACTION and UPWARD rotation (with the assist from the band) that makes it a truly unique exercise to considering using.
This drill helps improve the full spectrum of scapular motion as well as to help gain “access” to overhead range of motion in general.
Key Coaching Cues: Attach a band to the top of a squat rack (or anything that doesn’t move) and sit directly underneath. From there, pull down as you normally would, but then SLOWLY resist the pull of the band as you allow it to pull your arm fully up overhead.
I hope each and every one of you had a splendid Holiday season – in whatever way (or iteration) you chose to celebrate – and that the start of this year serves as a welcome reprieve from the galactic shit show that was 2020.
The pandemic resulted in a proverbial “pause button” being pressed with regards to my writing prowess the past several months. My goal in the coming year – outside of telling myself I’m going to do more cardio – is to get back on track with my writing frequency.
And with that, here’s my first offering of the new year.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Busdriver Hip Airplane
The hip airplane exercise is an exercise popularized by renowned spine researcher (and world’s #2 ranked mustache wearer) Dr. Stuart McGill.3
It’s a splendid exercise to help train the glutes, improve one’s sense of control & balance, as well as learning to dissociate hip movement from lumbar movement.
Another and often under-appreciated benefit is that it stresses a “rigid” (or stable) spine while performing a CLOSED-CHAIN movement where the acetabulum – hip socket – moves over a fixed femur.
It’s a sneakily difficult exercise to say the least.
I’m half convinced that the only people who can perform it well on their first try are 1) Dr. McGill and 2) Olympic gymnasts.
(Oh, and one-legged pirates. Those agile fuckers).
To that end, it behooves most people to start with a variation that’s a little less daunting on the balance side of things, yet still hits all the other notes.
Who Did I Steal It From? – Virginia Beach based strength & conditioning coach Vernon Griffith. I came up with the name, though. Just sayin…;o)
What Does It Do? – See all the above. Using the plate helps to offset any balance issues that may arise, but I do feel it provides a distinct advantage in that it helps drive better hip internal & external rotation.
Plus, it just looks cool.
Key Coaching Cues: Try to set the barbell at chest height (or just below) so that when you bend over to grab the plate your entire body will be in a straight line. To that point, the entire body (top of head to the feet) should move as one unit, or straight line, throughout the entirety of the set.
Moreover, another important point to harp on is to think about driving your contralateral hip toward the opposite knee as you transition from the hip externally rotated position toward the closed, or internally rotated position. Again, you want the action to come from the hip and NOT the lower back.
If you have a hard time with the leg completely straight, you can make the drill less challenging by bending your knee 90 degrees to shorten the lever.
Exercises You Should Be Doing: Wall Press Rotation
When it comes to dealing with hip shenanigans4 I think we’ve done a pretty solid job as an industry at prioritizing OPEN chain exercises.
For those not in the know, open-chain exercises are where…
“…the segment furthest away from the body – known as the distal aspect, usually the hand or foot – is free and not fixed to an object.”
This would make a lot sense given the hip joint – which is a ball and socket joint – is an area designed to be mobile. I don’t need to belabor the point here as there’s an abyss of exercises & drills to choose from.
But you can also peruse Instagram and it won’t take long before you find someone contorting themselves like a pretzel in the name of likes and five seconds of fame.
Which leads to a not-so-obvious digression.
Lately, after having listened to and corresponded with a few of my colleagues, I’m beginning to realize that open-chain exercises are just HALF the answer.
Closed-chain drills need some love too.
Wall Press Rotation
Who Did I Steal It From? – A rockstar (metaphorically speaking): Katie St. Claire. You should give her a follow. She’s legit.
What Does It Do? –
1️⃣ This drill works on pelvic range of motion, but as the preface implies…in a closed chain fashion. The advantage here is that it emphasizes acetabulum motion over a fixed femur.
It feels amazing and serves as a nice drill to implement before some squats or deadlifts.
2️⃣ Too, and as Katie has pointed out, this drill also hammers home foot mechanics. As I flex into hip internal rotation I drive more foot pronation. Conversely, as I extend into hip external rotation I drive more foot supination.
A splendid drill that marries together hip-foot mechanics.
Key Coaching Cues – I’m holding onto an EZ-curl bar, but anything similar – PVC pipe, light barbell, Nimbus 2000 – will do. Be sure to press the rear foot into the wall. You’ll then flex/rotate into hip IR on the standing leg while also accentuating a full exhale.
Exhale into the stretch.
Reverse your action, rotating back/extending as you inhale.
Who Did I Steal It From: I never thought this day would come. I think I may have done it everyone. I can’t believe it. I may have invented an exercise.
At first was going to call it TonyGentilcoreSupremeChancellorDragonSlayer Press, but that seemed a tad grandiose (and a mouthful).
I decided on Canister Press instead for reasons you can read about below… 😉
What Does It Do: The shoulder blades are meant to move:
Upward/downward rotation
Protraction/retraction
Anterior/posterior tilt
The ability to perform all of those actions is indicative of a “healthy” shoulder, and the platform for all that movement to take place comes courtesy of the ribcage.
The ribcage is shaped in a convex manner.
The scapulae (shoulder blade) is concave, or rounded, in nature. The ability for the two to play nicely together is an often overlooked mechanism of what I like to call “my shoulder fucking hurts syndrome.”
Rather than lulling a client down the corrective exercise purgatory rabbit hole, one option I like to hone in on out of the gate is creating context by encouraging what’s commonly referred to as the “canister position.”
Think of the canister position as stacked joints.
Your rib cage should be “stacked” on top of your pelvis. You can get a general visual from the picture below; my bottom hand represents my pelvic floor and my top hand represents my diaphragm and ribcage
This position is often a “safer” position for most, but is also a stable position, oftentimes allowing for more range of motion to occur, as well as a position that allows people to express the most strength and power in the weight room.
By pressing the band out in front of the body and holding it in place I am creating a FLEXION MOMENT with my abs (more posterior pelvic tilt), which in turn “cements” the canister position.
From there I create more congruency with the ribcage and shoulder blades so that the latter can move more efficiently up and around the former.
In short: It allows for a “cleaner” and often less painful overhead press.
Key Coaching Cues: I think the video above is self-explanatory. However, I am using a light resistance band and just wrapped it around my back. Alternatively you could wrap the band around a pole, squat rack, or any inanimate object and perform it that way too.
It’s somewhat hard to notice in the video but as I press the band out in front of my body I am also exhaling ALL my air out. This helps to get the ribs down further and to lock in that canister position even more.
From there I brace and perform my reps on the opposite arm (breathing as I hold the brace).
Give it a try, let me know what you think, and tag me on social media if you do!
In fact, I think this is the longest I’ve gone without writing anything – like, complete radio silence – in the history of this blog.6
I don’t know…I just haven’t been inspired to write much of late. And while part of me feels a sense of regret that I’ve left my audience hanging the past several weeks, the other part of me falls under the umbrella of “better to not write anything at all than write crap.”
So, to that end, what follows hopefully isn’t crap…;o)
For those keeping up with my life, a little over two months ago I ruptured my Achilles tendon. I wish I could sit here and say I did it while doing something cool like split jerking 440 lbs, deadlifting a Mack Truck, or fighting a pack of ninjas.
Alas, I did it while performing a very vanilla, hum-drum drill.
A jump-back start.
Essentially this:
Achilles ruptures are difficult to endure 👀and hard to treat 💥
Learn how to manage this injury and more in our latest Masterclass: Optimal loading for Achilles tendon rupture and tendinopathy.
The only difference between what’s shown above and what I did was that 1) I injured my right side, not left and 2) the woman in the video made it waaaaaay further than I did. When I injured mine I fell straight to the floor once my foot made contact with the floor.
In any case, since the injury I’ve been trying to set an example and prove to people that you CAN train around pretty much any injury.
To me “rest” is rarely going to be the long-term answer.
Sure, you need to rest, not be a jerk, and allow ample time post-surgery to heal and recover.
However, the idea that COMPLETE rest is the answer to expediting the healing process and using that as the foundation of rehab is a bit off-kilter if you ask me.
To that end, I wrote THIS blog post a few weeks ago highlighting the concept behind the “Trainable Menu,” or the idea that it behooves most people to focus on what they CAN do rather than what they can’t.
Moreover, I started the hashtag #findyourtrainablemenu on Instagram which I’ve been using to showcase some of my thoughts and ways I’ve been ensuring a training effect working through a significant injury.
As it happens, today’s Exercise You Should Be Doing champions this mindset. But it’s also an exercise that I’d advocate everybody perform, injured or not.
Chaos Bridge
Who Did I Steal It From?: Strength & Conditioning coach, personal trainer, and quite literally someone with a MUCH keener eye than myself when it comes to assessing movement, Katie St. Clair.
What Does It Do?: To steal a train of thought from Katie herself:
“Use chaos to build organization.”
Implementing the band forces the body to stabilize itself. Too, and maybe more to the point for my audience: this drill hammers the glutes and hamstrings and anterior core without necessarily placing an inordinate amount of load on the spine.
Believe me: It’s harder than it looks.
Key Coaching Cues: You’ll want to start with thicker band than you think. From there the idea is to press down into the band with one leg while you pull the opposite leg/knee towards your chest (using the bench as a counterbalance).
As you press down into the band try to emphasize feeling your glute contract (the hamstring will take care of itself). Likewise, pull, HARD, toward your chest.
Say hello to your abdominals…;o)
Give this one a try and let me know what you think.
Just to get the obvious question out of the way: I have ZERO idea why the Copenhagen Side Plank is called what it is. My educated guess is it’s not because it was popularized in Detroit.
In THIS article, though, via Carl Valle, he notes the origin of the exercise is a bit of a mystery, but that the Danes have most of the acclaim directed toward them because they’re the ones responsible for much of the most recent research on groin injuries in sport.
Regular plain ol’ side planks – you know, the ones you see Karen or Jim perform at your local gym – are fine. There’s indeed a myriad of efficacious uses for the exercise; especially for those dealing with chronic low back pain.
The world’s most renowned low back researcher, Dr. Stuart McGill, has belabored this point for the better part of the past two decades, most notably in his seminal books Low Back Disorders, Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance, and, for the TL;DR crowd, Back Mechanic.
In Short: The side plank provides a splendid opportunity to target the lateral obliques and quadratus lumborum in an ISOMETRIC fashion. Much of McGill’s research backs up the idea that isometric exercises to enhance muscular endurance are in favor over dynamic, more traditional strength & conditioning exercises in improving spinal stiffness and stability.
Too, because there are two sides of the body – left and right (SPOILER ALERT) – using the standard side plank to compare discrepancies between both sides is a powerful assessment tool.
If someone can smoke their left side, yet can barely perform ten seconds on their right without breaking form…
…it may provide some important information and a pertinent starting point in terms of rehab.
That said.
I’m not a fan of plank variations that go on and on and on and on.
I don’t have enough eye rolls to give for people who “brag” about their insane five-minute planks holds.
First off: No one gives two flying fucks about a five-minute plank hold. You may as well brag about your ability to perform a cartwheel, or, I don’t know, your proficiency in long division.
Seriously, no one cares.
Secondly, most people’s form turns into utter garbage after the 60 second mark and with it…
…all benefits of the exercise.
I much prefer to make plank variations more challenging than just tacking on time for the sake of more time.
Oh, Hello Copenhagen Side Plank(s)
NOTE: In addition to the link provided above, I’d also encourage you to check out THIS article from Nick Tumminello if you want to partake in a deeper dive in just how badass Copenhagen Side Planks are.
Just as a heads up, not only are they great for people with low back pain but they’re also fantastic for:
Adductor strengthening (if you work with athletes, especially hockey & soccer players, this is key).
Knee strengthening (I actually use Copenhagens a lot with clients attempting to work around knee pain. Much of this ties in with strengthening the adductors)
There’s a bevy of variations to consider here, but two of my go to’s are highlighted in the video above.
1. Copenhagen Side Plank w/ Leg Lift
There’s really nothing fancy here. As is the case with any plank variation, think: Abs on, glutes on. From there don’t just think about haphazardly lifting the bottom leg towards the top.
Do that.
But ALSO think about driving or pushing the knee of the top leg INTO the bench or table.
At the top SQUEEZE your knees together, hard.
And then CONTROL the lowering portion.
2. Copenhagen Side Plank w/ Low Leg Driver
Take all the cues from above and now bend the knee of the bottom leg 90 degrees and then move the same leg into hip flexion/extension; without allowing your pelvis to lower or dip.
Tip: if you want to keep yourself honest, place something like a glass of water or yoga block underneath the bottom leg. If at any point your leg knocks over “the thing,” you suck at life and should be ashamed of yourself.
Basically you’ve besmirched your family name.
150 points from Gryfindor.
Tip #2: Many articles advocate for trainees to place the ankle (of the top leg) on the table or bench, so that the legs are completely straight. I’m not a fan of this because it places a lot of unnecessary strain on the medial component of the knee out of the gate.
Notice in the video how my knee is supported by the table?
Start there.
You can progress to less “support” as you gain more proficiency with the exercise.
When it comes to overall shoulder health there are a bevy of factors to consider:
Rotator cuff strength
Tissue quality
Overuse
Programming balance
Even exercise technique (and how joints are loaded)
All are important and things I consider myself when working with a new client who’s shoulder isn’t feeling great. However, there’s one “thing” that’s often overlooked in lieu of all the above:
Can the shoulder blade move freely on the ribcage?
The Key to Shoulder Health = Scapular (and Ribcage) Movement
The shoulder blades are meant to move, plain and simple. Nothing extraordinary there.
Upward/downward rotation
Protraction/retraction
Anterior/posterior tilt
The ability to perform all of those actions is indicative of a “healthy” shoulder, and the platform for all that movement to take place come courtesy of the ribcage.
The ribcage is shaped in a convex manner.
The scapulae (shoulder blade) is concave, or rounded, in nature. The ability for the two to play nicely together is an often overlooked mechanism of what I like to call “my shoulder fucking hurts syndrome.”
Here’s a common example of what I mean.
The cue “pull the shoulder blades together and down” is a common one we use in the industry. And, you know what? It works splendidly when 1) you’re working with someone who’s stuck in a more flexed/rounded/computer guy posture and/or 2) the goal is to lift as much weight as humanly possible.
I.e., good luck bench pressing (or even squatting/deadlifting) appreciate weight with shoulder blades that aren’t “set” in a more stable position
That being said, too much of anything can have its inherent drawbacks.7.
The “together and down” cue can lead to overactive lats and a more extension-based pattern where the shoulder blades get stuck or cemented together – making it all the more more challenging for them to move about the rib cage.
My shoulder blades basically making out
To that end one of my favorite ways to address this is to include more reaching drills into people’s training repertoire. That and BACK EXPANSION.
More to the point, what I’m really after is targeting the Serratus Anterior, or those finger-like looking thingamajiggies on the side of your ribs.
I’m starting to fall into the camp that addressing Serratus weakness is the answer to everything:
Shoulder pain?
Neck pain?
Back pain?
Snowblower won’t start?
More Serratus work my friend!
The power of reaching cannot be understated. That in concert with learning to expand the upper back (getting the ribcage to move, via breathing) can be a game changer for a lot of people.
Here’s an effective drill that addresses both.
Seated 1-Arm Reach-Row
Who Did I Steal It From? – Strength coach Conor Harris.
What Does It Do? – Via Conor himself:
“A stiff ribcage is one that lacks trunk rotation and the ability to expand with air. We can free up the ribcage through alternation + reaching of the arms (serratus/obliques) with an intention to pause and expand it posteriorly with air”
The reach engages the serratus/obliques (watch out for that side cramp) and closes off the front side of the body. Air has no where else to go but BACK; it feels wonderful.
Key Coaching Cues: Don’t be a hero. You DO NOT need a lot of weight to perform this exercise, it’s not the point. You’ll pull with one side (elbow to hip, no further) as you simultaneously reach with the other, free hand. From there, inhale through the nose, focus on “breathing into your back,” and then perform a full exhale.
Don’t rush the breaths.
Hold the position for a 2-3 breath count and that’s one repetition.
