Today we do one of my favorites: the seated side stretch. This one is great for the lats, intercostals and obliques. In CrossFit we don’t do much lateral flexion or extension, but you will discover that improving your range of motion here will improve many of your overhead lifts and help some of you with your back pain.
Take a straddle position on the floor and then bend one of your knees and pull your foot back toward your groin. Place a weight (sandbag or plate) on the bent thigh near the hip and loop a band around the foot on your straight leg. Lean over toward the straight leg and try to bring your elbow closer to the floor on the inside of that straight leg. Keep gazing up and trying to rotate your chest up toward the ceiling. Breathe deeply. Try to grab the band with the arm on top and reach that arm right next to your ear as you side bend deeper. Use the bottom arm to brace against the leg and keep your chest from collapsing toward the floor. Breathe slowly and stay here for 2 minutes. Then switch sides. It’s pretty intense so take your time afterwards to just sit calmly before getting up.
Seated Side Stretch. Day 10 of 30. from Force Distance Time on Vimeo.
Here are the rules for the 30-Day Stretch Fucking Harder Challenge. Each day do the deep stretch, post it on Instagram and tag some friends to do it with you. Post your stretch with the tags: #stretchfuckingharder #supplepandas #30daypandachallenge Tag me @coachpanda. Come back here to my website or vimeo channel to see more details on each stretch and modifications and scaling options. Try to stay in each stretch for at least 2 minutes per stretch per side. Remember to breathe slowly and deeply and start gradually and move deeper over time. Back off if it hurts.