The Best Stretches for Tight Upper-Body Muscles

If your workout included a lot of pulling work—like pull-ups or chin-ups, rows, or curls—you’d want to stretch out your lats, the large muscles on your back, as well as your lower traps with upper-back stretches. Because your biceps (the muscles on the front of your upper arms) assist in pulling exercises, you may also want to stretch them.

You may also just want to do moves that target a particularly tight area, or ones that simply feel amazing for your body. For example, neck stretches are great after most upper-body workouts, as are mobility stretches that loosen up your wrists—especially if you’ve been working with dumbbells or doing exercises like push-ups where you’re in a high-plank position.

How long should you stretch for?

Stretching after your session—whether we’re talking about a full-body routine, one filled with upper-body strength exercises, or even a quick arms workout—doesn’t have to be complicated, and it doesn’t need to take a whole lot of time either.

If you’re just getting started, begin by holding each stretch for about 30 seconds, working up to a minute as your body gets used to the moves. Your entire stretching routine post-workout doesn’t need to be long, either. Shoot for roughly the same duration as your warm-up, or 5 to 10 minutes.

As you stretch it out, keep some of these key things in mind: “Slowly move into the stretch, then hold; don’t bounce, as it can sometimes lead to injury; and don’t stretch into pain—only stretch until you feel tension,” Giordano says. “If you feel pain, stop and contact your doctor or physical therapist,” he says.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best stretches to do after an upper-body routine. From chest stretches to triceps stretches to upper-back moves that loosen up your traps, you’ll be sure to find some new ones to slot into your cooldown.