Table top

Table Top

The tabletop stretch is a versatile exercise designed to enhance flexibility, strengthen the posterior chain, and improve shoulder mobility. By sitting on the ground with your hands behind you and feet flat, this stretch involves lifting the hips up to form a tabletop-like position, engaging the glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and core.

Ideal for athletes and fitness enthusiasts seeking to counteract the effects of prolonged sitting or repetitive upper body exercises, the tabletop stretch opens up the chest, stretches the hip flexors, and strengthens the glutes. It is particularly beneficial for improving shoulder flexibility and relieving tightness in the lower back and hips.

This movement is easily integrated into warm-up, cooldown, or flexibility routines and can be modified for varying fitness levels by adjusting the tempo, range of motion, or adding a slight twist for extra spinal mobility. Regularly practicing the tabletop stretch will increase your flexibility, reduce muscle tension, and promote balanced movement patterns for optimal athletic performance and improved posture.

Equipment Needed

Open floor or yoga mat

Instructions for the table top stretch:

  1. While sitting on the floor place your hands behind you with fingers pointing back
  2. Bend your knees so your feet are flat and about hip to shoulder-width apart
  3. Engage your shoulders by pulling them together and down along your spine
  4. Engage your core and tilt your pelvis back by contracting your glutes
  5. Lift your butt in the air by pressing through your hands and feet
  6. Try to make a straight line between your knees, hips, and shoulders
  7. Hold for the prescribed amount of time and return to the starting position

Common Error

Make sure to continually squeeze your glutes to prevent your hips from sagging

table top Progressions / Regressions:

If this is too challenging:

  • Only lift your hips as high as you feel comfortable

If you want more of a challenge:

  • Try getting into the tabletop then lifting one foot from the ground

 

 

Related Exercises

90/90 Hip Stretch

90/90 Hip Stretch

90/90 Hip Stretch90/90 hip Stretch The 90/90 hip stretch is a powerful exercise designed to improve hip mobility, flexibility, and overall lower body function. This stretch targets the hip internal and external rotators, and the glutes, making it ideal for athletes...

Prone Angel

Prone AngelProne Angel The prone angel is a powerful exercise designed to improve upper back strength, shoulder stability, and overall posture. Performed while lying face down, this movement mimics the motion of making snow angels. It specifically targets the scapular...

Band Pass Through

Band Pass Through

Band Pass ThroughBand pass through The band pass through, also known as the band shoulder pass through, is an effective exercise designed to improve shoulder mobility, flexibility, and stability. This exercise involves using a resistance band to perform a controlled,...

Related Posts

Mastering the Dead Bug: Core Stability for Injury Prevention

Dead bug exercise progressions are excellent for core stability and are used in physical therapy and rehab but often overlooked in fitness and athletics. We use them to develop core strength and pelvic positioning in a safe, supported posture. The dead bug...

Building Accessory Programs – Part 6

Building an accessory program is a great idea if your training isn't well balanced or if you have specific goals that aren't being met. This article is the final part of a series all about how to build and implement accessory programs for functional training like...

Unilateral exercises: accessory programming part 5

Functional training programs are intended to make your body move well as a whole, not just as individual parts. Unfortunately many programs still lack movements that are helpful in sport and in life.  Adding unilateral exercises into your training with accessory...

Lateral movements: accessory programming part 4

Functional training programs are intended to make your body move well as a whole, not just as individual parts. Unfortunately many programs still lack movements that are helpful in sport and in life.  Adding lateral movements into your training with accessory programs...

Horizontal Pulling Movements – accessory programming part 3

Functional fitness programming often has a great deal of pulling movements.  Unfortunately programs like Crossfit neglect horizontal pulling in favor of vertical pulling.  For this reason, we recommend adding horizontal pulls to your accessory programming. To learn...

Rotation exercises – crossfit accessory programming part 2

Rotation exercises are key to generating power in movements like throwing or swinging and they also play an important role in muscle balance and healthy joint mechanics.  Unfortunately, they are often missing from many functional fitness programs like Crossfit.  If...

Anti-Rotation Exercises: Accessory Programming Part 1

Crossfit is a constantly varied fitness program that focuses on intense functional movements but it lacks some that may help you stay healthy. This post will help you learn how to program anti-rotation exercises into your accessory programs for Crossfit. Doing this...

The best mobility programs use these elements

Just like a diet needs a caloric deficit to make you lose weight, a mobility program needs certain things in order to help you move better.  In this article we will explore the top 5 things that the most effective mobility programs should have to be as effective as...

Banded Ankle Mobilization: Improve your ankle mobility

The Banded Ankle MobilizationBanded ankle mobility mobilizations are simple and effective drills you can use to improve ankle range of motion.  Most of us could use more ankle mobility, especially those of us who sit most of the day and then try to train functional...

Thoracic Extension Mobility: The Ultimate How To Post

Thoracic spine extension is a crucial spinal movement that is required for shoulder, neck, and low back health as well as athletic performance. In this article, I will discuss what thoracic mobility is, how to assess thoracic mobility, and what thoracic mobility...

Follow Us On Social