Shoulders · Bodyweight
Arm-up Rotator Stretch
How to do the arm-up rotator stretch, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand in a doorway and raise one arm out to the side with the elbow bent ninety degrees, forearm pointing up. Rest the forearm against the frame and turn your body away until you feel a stretch across the front of the shoulder, then hold and switch sides.
- 1A stretch across the front of the shoulder and chest
- 2Your elbow staying level with your shoulder
- 3A slow turn of the torso to deepen the stretch
Common mistakes
- Arching your lower back as you rotate away
- Letting the elbow drop below shoulder height
- Forcing the turn into front-of-shoulder pain
Muscles worked
The arm-up rotator stretch mainly works the internal rotators, with the mid chest and front delts assisting.
- Internal RotatorsPrimary
- Mid ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Upper ChestMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the arm-up rotator stretch for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.