Prone Swimmer

How to do it

Set up

1. Lie face down with the legs straight and the arms straight overhead.
2. Lift the hands a little off the floor and rest the forehead on the floor or the mat.

Do the rep

1. Move the straight arms out to the sides and down toward the hips, with the hands off the floor.
2. Bend the elbows and bring the backs of the hands to the lower back.
3. Reverse the path and return the arms overhead.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the hands move from overhead to the lower back and return overhead without touching the floor.

One rep starts face down with the arms overhead, moves the lifted hands around to the lower back, and returns them overhead.

Breathing

Breathe out as the arms move down; breathe in as they return overhead.

Cues

• Keep the hands off the floor all the way.
• Move slowly through the whole arc.
• Pause at each end when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the chest

  What you seeThe chest and the head lift as the arms move.

  FixKeep the chest on the floor and move only the arms.

  The arms, not the lower back, should do the work.

• Forcing the range

  What you seeThe shoulder pinches as the hands reach the lower back or move overhead.

  FixMove only through the range you can do without pain.

  Shoulder control matters more than range.