10 Stretch Cord Exercises: Upper Body
Have some old stretch cords but need a place to start? Have a look here! This is one of Coach Nate’s favorite routines.
1. Scull: Get into a high-elbow position and then windshield the hands and forearms back and forth with the stretch cords keeping your muscles engaged the whole time.
2. Catch: Position yourself just like the scull drill. With a light pressure on the stretch cords, while maintaining a high-elbow position, pull your hands and forearms down and back until they are directly underneath your elbows. Slowly release at the end of the exercise back to the starting position for an eccentric exercise.
3. Finish: Face the connection point of the stretch cord and bend at the waist. Position your biceps against the side of your body with forearms and hands pointing down. Extend both hands backward to engage the triceps and mimic the finish movement.
4. Recovery: Face away from the connection point and bend slightly at the waist. Simulate a freestyle stroke where the cords will assist with the pulling phase but be under load during the recovery motion. The emphasis during this drill is on an even recovery and the constant core engagement during rotation.
5. Triceps extension: Perform this the same as the finish drill but with more pressure on the cords. Or face away from the connection point, stand tall, and extend arms overhead for an alternative triceps extension exercise.
6. Single-arm pull: Face the connection point. One arm remains out front and immobile, while the opposite arm pulls under the body in a smooth motion.
7. Double-arm pull: This move is the same as the single-arm pull but performed with both arms simultaneously. The focus is on a constant acceleration of the hands from the catch to the finish. Maintain high elbows throughout the underbody pull.
8. Chest fly: Face away from the connection point and stand tall. Raise arms into a “T” position at chest height. With a slight bend in the elbow, pull arms together to meet in the front. Control the speed of the release of the stretch cords for an additional eccentric exercise.
9. Reverse fly: Perform a chest fly but instead, face the connection point. Focus on the eccentric load by resisting and controlling the speed of the stretch cords as they retract.
