Blok SessionsLog in

Lat and pec doorway stretch

30 s chest and 30 s lat stretch per side in a doorway, 2 rounds.

Slot
Mobility
Focus
Mobility
Time
6 min
Intensity
Low
Injury risk
Low
Intervals
8 × 30s on, 10s off
Equipment
Door frame, Wall

How to do it

Chest: put your forearm against a door frame, elbow at shoulder height, and step through until you feel a stretch across the chest. Lats: hold the door frame at head height, sit your hips back, and let your side lengthen. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds per side, and do 2 rounds. Breathe slowly and don't crank on the shoulder.

Who it’s for

Climbers who can’t get their arms fully overhead, which is most of us after a few years. It needs a door frame and six minutes.

Common mistakes

  • Pushing into the end range hard. Steady pressure, no cranking. Shoulders don’t respond well to force.
  • Arching the lower back on the chest stretch. Ribs down, glutes on. Otherwise the range comes from your spine.
  • Rushing the thirty seconds. Breathe through it. Short holds do very little for this tissue.
  • Only doing one side. Both, and note if one is much tighter, because it usually is.

How to progress

Regularity beats duration: two rounds after every session will change more in a month than a long stretching session once a week. Pair it with the thoracic reset for overhead positions.

When it fits

The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.

  • Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
  • Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
  • Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
  • Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
  • Endurance Climb longer before you pump out, by moving efficiently.
  • Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
  • Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.

Start with a ready-made block

A six-week strength plan with a deload, as a file for the app, and seven short emails on how to run it.