Reverse Snow Angel

The first time you try this, your instinct will be to lift your chest or chin off the mat to help your arms move higher. That defeats the purpose. The work must happen entirely in your upper back and rear shoulders, so keep your forehead planted and your ribs heavy against the mat. Another common error is letting the hands drop and rest on the floor at the bottom of the arc. Hovering them just an inch off the mat maintains constant tension, which is what makes this effective as a warm-up. You should feel a gentle squeeze between your shoulder blades and a mild warmth across the back of your shoulders. If you feel pinching in the front of the shoulder joint, reduce the height of your overhead sweep; stop just short of where the pinch begins. Move slowly—four seconds up, four seconds down. Stop the set if your lower back begins to arch uncomfortably or if you lose the ability to hover your hands.

Use a strict four-second concentric and four-second eccentric tempo to maximise time under tension during your warm-up. For activation, two sets of eight to ten repetitions are sufficient; avoid fatigue that compromises your working sets. To progress, pause for two seconds when your thumbs meet overhead, actively depressing your shoulders away from your ears. Once bodyweight feels effortless, hold a light resistance band stretched between your wrists throughout the arc to increase demand on the external rotators. Alternatively, perform the movement unilaterally, sweeping one arm at a time while bracing your opposite hand on the mat to resist rotational forces through your thoracic spine. This variation exposes side-to-side asymmetries in scapular control. Keep the effort around an RPE of 4 to 5; this remains a preparatory movement, not a strength test.

Lifting the chest off the mat shifts the effort from the upper back to the spinal erectors, reducing the intended shoulder activation and potentially straining the lower back. Press your sternum firmly into the mat throughout. Letting the hands touch the floor at the bottom removes tension from the rear deltoids and upper back, turning the exercise into a passive rest rather than continuous work. Keep the hands hovering. Rushing the arc eliminates the muscular control required for a proper warm-up and relies on momentum instead of scapular stability. Count four seconds each way. Finally, shrugging the shoulders towards the ears as the arms go overhead places unnecessary stress on the neck and upper traps. Actively depress the shoulder blades away from your ears before initiating every repetition.

Sets

2

Reps

8–10 reps

Rest

30s

Tempo

4-0-4-0

RPE

4

Frequenza

3