Thoracic Bridge

How to do the Thoracic Bridge

1. 1Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent to approximately 90°, arms extended in front of you at chest height, palms stacked together.
2. 2Press your bottom knee and the outside of your bottom foot firmly into the floor to create a stable base that keeps your hips stacked.
3. 3Inhale to prepare, then exhale as you lift your top arm and begin tracing it up and over your body, rotating through the thoracic spine.
4. 4Follow the moving hand with your gaze, letting your upper back rotate toward the ceiling while your hips stay anchored to the floor.
5. 5Continue rotating until your top shoulder blade approaches or contacts the floor, or until you reach a comfortable end range — you should feel a stretch across the latissimus dorsi, obliques, and chest.
6. 6Hold the end position for 1–2 seconds, breathing steadily and allowing the gastrocnemius, soleus, hamstrings, and gluteus maximus to stay relaxed.
7. 7Inhale as you slowly reverse the rotation, sweeping your arm back to the starting position with control.
8. 8Complete all reps on one side, then roll over and repeat on the opposite side.

Form tips

• Drive the rotation from your thoracic spine, not your lower back — think of peeling your upper ribs open rather than twisting at the hips.
• Move at a slow, deliberate tempo (2–3 seconds in each direction) to maximize the stretch on the latissimus dorsi, obliques, and trapezius fibers.
• Exhale fully as you rotate open; the breath release naturally relaxes the obliques and creates more room for thoracic movement.
• Keep your head in a neutral position aligned with your spine rather than craning your neck to look over your shoulder.
• If your shoulder blade cannot reach the floor without strain, simply stop at your comfortable range — forcing the position can overload the infraspinatus, teres major, and teres minor.

Common mistakes

• Rotating from the lower back instead of the thoracic spine, which compresses the lumbar vertebrae and defeats the purpose of the exercise.
• Allowing the hips to roll open during the movement, which removes the stable hip base and lets the lumbar spine compensate for limited thoracic mobility.
• Rushing through reps without pausing at end range, which reduces time under stretch and limits long-term mobility gains.
• Forcing the rotating arm to the floor before the thoracic spine is ready, which can overload the rotator-cuff muscles — infraspinatus, teres major, and teres minor — and risk shoulder strain.
• Holding your breath throughout the movement, which increases overall muscle tension and restricts the thoracic rotation you are trying to improve.

Frequently asked questions