Side Lying Floor Stretch
What Side Lying Floor Stretch really gives you is muscle you built on purpose, driven by pure bodyweight leverage.
How to do Side Lying Floor Stretch
- Lie on your side with your legs straight and your bottom arm extended straight overhead.
- Bend your top knee and place your foot on the ground in front of your bottom leg.
- Reach your top arm over your head and grab onto something stable, like a wall or a piece of furniture.
- Slowly lift your bottom leg off the ground, keeping it straight, until you feel a stretch in your side.
- Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds, then slowly lower your leg back down.
- Repeat on the other side.
Side Lying Floor Stretch Sets and Reps by Goal
Strength
4 sets of 6-8 reps at your hardest clean leverage, resting 2-3 minutes. Add reps first, then slow the lowering phase.
Hypertrophy
4 sets of 12-18 reps with 60 seconds of rest. Change leverage or elevation before you add load.
Endurance
3 sets of 25-30 reps with 30-45 seconds of rest. Hold the end position for a beat once reps come easily.
Common Side Lying Floor Stretch Mistakes
Rushing reps so gravity does most of the work
Take two to three counts on the lowering phase of every rep.
Moving through the easy half of the range only
Work the part of the range that feels hardest, not the part that feels good.
Easier and Harder Than Side Lying Floor Stretch
Swap Side Lying Floor Stretch For
Side Lying Floor Stretch — Frequently Asked Questions
How do you do the Side Lying Floor Stretch?
Lie on your side with your legs straight and your bottom arm extended straight overhead. Bend your top knee and place your foot on the ground in front of your bottom leg. Reach your top arm over your head and grab onto something stable, like a wall or a piece of furniture. Use your bodyweight only and keep the movement controlled through the full range. The animated GIF above shows the complete rep at normal speed.
What muscles does the Side Lying Floor Stretch work?
The Side Lying Floor Stretch primarily targets the lats. It is classified as a back exercise and is performed with your bodyweight only.
How many sets and reps of the Side Lying Floor Stretch should I do?
For muscle growth: 4 sets of 12-18 reps with 60 seconds of rest. Change leverage or elevation before you add load. Adjust the load rather than the rep target if form breaks down before the final rep.
Is the Side Lying Floor Stretch good for beginners?
It is an intermediate movement. You will get more out of it once you can already perform the basic back patterns with controlled form. Beginners can still use it with light load and close attention to technique.
What can I do instead of the Side Lying Floor Stretch?
Try the Exercise Ball Lat Stretch, Roller Side Lat Stretch or the Reverse Grip Machine Lat Pulldown. Each trains the lats with a similar movement pattern, so you can swap based on the equipment you have available.
