Front line, chest

Doorway chest opener

Forearm on the door frame, then turn your body away. Hours of reaching forward let the tissue across the front of the chest settle into a shorter shape, and the shoulder starts every movement from there.

How to do it

1. 01Stand in a doorway and place one forearm flat on the frame, elbow at about shoulder height.
2. 02Step the same-side foot slightly forward for balance.
3. 03Turn your chest slowly away from that arm until you feel a broad stretch across the front of the shoulder and chest.
4. 04Breathe there for thirty seconds, then switch sides; three rounds each.

Mistakes that waste your reps

• ×Cranking the arm back until it pinches the front of the shoulder; the stretch should feel broad, never sharp.
• ×Letting the low back arch to fake more range.
• ×Placing the elbow far above shoulder height, which loads the joint rather than the tissue.

Where this comes from

Discomfort that eases as you move is normal; pain that sharpens is a stop sign. If this area is injured or persistently painful, a clinician outranks this page.

Written by Kyle Jenkin · updated August 31, 2026 · how we grade evidence

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