Thread by @ZakJackPT

The most forgotten area of your body:

Your thoracic spine.

Most people have pain and stiffness in this area from lack of movement.

Here are 5 dead simple mobility exercises to crush your upper back pain and stiffness for good:

Thoracic spine mobility is essential to access the full range of motion of your shoulders and neck.

It's also essential for anyone wanting to learn advanced bodyweight skills like the handstand.

Most people are super stiff in this area.

Use these 5 exercise to unlock yours:

1. Butcher's Block

This exercise is perfect for:
• Stretching your lats
• Unlocking your thoracic spine

Start without weight, stretching as deeply as you can.

Once you're confident, progress the stretch by holding a weight in your hands.

2. Back Bridge:

The ultimate upper mobility exercise used by gymnastics pros.

The back bridge:
• Opens up your shoulders
• Stretches your lats and pecs
• Promotes thoracic spine extension

Work up to these, they are more difficult than they look.

If you can't do a full back bridge on the floor yet, that's ok, they're not easy.

Try elevating your feet on a stable object, this will make it easier to achieve the back bridge shape.

From there, progressively lower your foot elevation until you can do it on the floor.

3. Passive To Active Hang

The passive to active hang:
• Requires thoracic extension mobility
• Activates the muscles around your thoracic spine

Aim to make a proud chest when you squeeze your shoulder blades back and down, relax into a dead hang and repeat.

4. Foam Roller Thoracic Extension:

Most people are super stiff into thoracic extension from sitting hunched all day.

This exercise will unlock your thoracic spine extension.

Aim to keep your ribs tucked down as you extend over the roller.

Breathe out as you stretch over it.

5. Half-Kneeling Thoracic Spine Rotation:

This exercise unlocks rotation in your thoracic spine.

Start against a wall with your hands together, then rotate one arm backward while keeping your hips planted still.

You should feel a nice stretch in your mid back.

If you've got a painful and stiff thoracic spine, you only need to do 1-2 of these exercises daily to regain your mobility.

Aim for 3 sets of 30-60 second holds, once per day.

It doesn't take much to become more mobile.

5 dead simple exercises to relieve pain and stiffness in your upper back:

1. Butcher's Block
2. Back Bridge
3. Passive To Active Hang
4. Foam Roller Thoracic Extension
5. Half Kneeling Thoracic Spine Rotation

The issue is, this is only general advice.

There's no guarantee it's going to help you.

If you've experiencing these pains, and want to transform your body with calisthenics,

I've got the solution for you.

DM me "CALI" and I'll help you figure out how to achieve those goals.

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