Shoulders, upper back and hips

Reverse Table: Hands on Blocks

Strengthens shoulders and opens the chest with less wrist strain.

How to do it

1. 1

   Sit with knees bent, a block behind each hip

   Set them at a low or middle height, roughly shoulder width apart, on a mat so they do not slide.

2. 2

   Press your hands into the blocks with fingers forward

   The raised surface means far less bend at the wrist than pressing into the floor, which is the reason to use them.

3. 3

   Lift the hips into a partial tabletop

   Press through the feet as much as the hands, and stop the lift where the shoulders still feel comfortable.

4. 4

   Keep the head in line with the chest

   In line with the chest, chin lightly tucked, shoulders down.

5. 5

   Hold, lower, then repeat two or three times

   Each hold lasts about fifteen to thirty seconds. A smaller lift on later rounds is fine and often better.

What to watch for

Blocks skidding outward under the pressure, and the shoulders creeping up toward the ears. Keep the blocks under your shoulders on a non slip surface, and stop the lift while the front of the shoulders still feels comfortable.

Ways to adjust it

• Smaller lift
• Neutral head
• Partial lift

If this one is too much today

Try the gentler version instead. It asks less of you and does much the same work.

• Reverse Table: Chair Supported

Other ways to do this movement

Every version below is the same movement set up differently, so one of them usually suits. See all Reverse Tabletop versions in one place, ordered from gentlest to strongest.

• Reverse Table: Chair Supported
• Reverse Table: Classic

Before you try it

Move within a range that stays comfortable. Stop if this brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and speak to a clinician before repeating it.

From the clinically authored Vinys movement library.