Shoulders · Bodyweight
Standing Reverse Shoulder Stretch
How to do the standing reverse shoulder 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
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall and reach both arms behind you, clasping your hands at your lower back. Keep your arms straight and gently lift them upward until you feel a stretch through the front of your shoulders and chest, then hold and breathe.
- 1A stretch across the front of your shoulders and chest
- 2Your chest opening as your hands lift behind you
- 3Your shoulders relaxed down away from your ears
Common mistakes
- Hunching your upper back to raise the arms higher
- Forcing the lift into sharp shoulder pain
- Shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears
Muscles worked
The standing reverse shoulder stretch mainly works the front delts, with the upper chest and mid chest assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Mid ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the standing reverse shoulder 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.