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