The walkout cobra could be the best exercise for improving your posture

Welcome to our weekly Move of the Week series. Every Monday, we’ll be sharing with you one of our favourite exercises – how to do them, what muscles they work and why they should be a regular part of your workout regime. This week: walkout cobra.

The name might not spark joy in you, but the walkout cobra is actually the perfect move for those looking for a deep, full-body stretch. Unlike many other exercises, it works your posterior (back) and anterior (front) at the same time – hitting your hamstrings, hips, chest, arms and abs all at once. 

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What is a walkout cobra?

The walkout cobra involves slowly lowering your body to a high plank before lowering your hips into a traditional cobra stretch. 

The exercise is great because:

It improves flexibility: keeping your legs straight as you lower and controlling the backbend will encourage a deep stretch. 

It targets commonly tight muscles: Hips, glutes and your chest can get tight from a day sat hunching, and this exercise will open all of those areas.

It targets the upper and lower body: an efficient exercise is one that gets the whole body at once. 

What muscles does a walkout cobra work?

The walkout cobra works the whole body but mainly works into the:

  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back 
  • Rear delts (back of shoulders) 
  • Hip flexors (front of the hips)
  • Hip abductors (side of the hips) 
  • Chest 

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How to do a walkout cobra

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Hinge at the hips to lower your upper body towards your legs. Let your arms touch the floor. 
  3. Keeping your legs straight, walk our your hands to a high-plank position.
  4. Squeeze your glutes and roll your shoulders back as you press your pubic bone to the floor to come into cobra. 
  5. Hold for a few seconds before returning to plank and walking your hands back to your feet. 

Images: Stylist

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