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Pectoralis Major and Minor SA Active Stretch

Stretch your chest muscles with this easy-to-follow guide on how to properly do the Pectoralis Major and Minor SA Active Stretch. Unlock increased flexibility and range of motion. Perfect for all levels!

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Transcript

00:02 - 00:07This is Brent, President of B2C Fitness, and in this video we're doing our active pec
00:07 - 00:10stretch. So that's an active stretch that's going to concentrate on
00:10 - 00:14increasing extensibility of both our pectoralis major, and pectoralis minor.
00:14 - 00:17I'm going to assume at this point that we've already done our release
00:17 - 00:21techniques, as well as done static stretching to return this muscle to
00:21 - 00:25optimal length. Now, active stretching we're going to use to help increase end
00:25 - 00:29range strength of our functional antagonists, which in this case are going
00:29 - 00:36to be our mid and lower traps, as well as to start returning optimal or normal
00:36 - 00:40reciprocal inhibition back to our upper body mechanics. I'm going to have my
00:40 - 00:46friend, Leanne, come out and help demonstrate this technique. Some of
00:46 - 00:49you have seen protocols for active stretching, and obviously all we need to
00:49 - 00:53do is take a muscle to its end range and then try to activate the functional
00:53 - 00:59antagonists. However, it is often helpful to use gravity to create a little bit
00:59 - 01:05extra overpressure, a little added force, to our active stretches. In this case, to
01:05 - 01:09increase the amount of force on Leanne's pecs, I'm going to go ahead and use
01:09 - 01:14gravity while she's in a supine position to help push a little further. So the
01:14 - 01:17first position we're going to use here, is I have Leanne on a foam roll. You
01:17 - 01:22could use a half foam roll, or a yoga mat balled up to help
01:22 - 01:28elevate her off the ground. This is going to help to position her spine so that we
01:28 - 01:31get a little bit of thoracic extension. That thoracic extension is going to help
01:31 - 01:36put our scapula in the place they need to be, which is going to be posteriorly
01:36 - 01:40tilted. So if we end up in thoracic extension of the scapula,
01:40 - 01:44a little bit posteriorly tilted, she's then going to take her arms and put them
01:44 - 01:50back behind her head like this. This is going to further posteriorly tilt her
01:50 - 01:54scapula, as well as upwardly rotate. Now, if you remember your functional
01:54 - 01:59anatomy, pectoralis minor does downward rotation and anterior tipping. So already
01:59 - 02:04at this point I have her at a static pectoralis minor stretch. We know her
02:04 - 02:09pectoralis major, as well, is on stretch because I am horizontally abducted, as
02:09 - 02:14well as fully externally rotated in this position. Now, from here, all Leanne has to
02:14 - 02:20do is squeeze her shoulder blades back together trying to
02:20 - 02:24get her elbows to the floor. She's going to hold that position for 2 to 5
02:24 - 02:29seconds, and then she's just going to relax, and she's going to do this anywhere from
02:29 - 02:358 to 15 times. Now, there are a couple of variations we could do to this
02:35 - 02:40stretch. If this did not work for Leanne, I can have Leanne put her hands on the
02:40 - 02:45floor. So she's in the shape of a big T, or maybe a little bit more like a
02:45 - 02:50Y, we still want a little bit of elbow above the shoulder, we still want to keep
02:50 - 02:54her hands up just a little bit to ensure upward rotation of the scapula, but she
02:54 - 02:58can do the same thing here. All she's going to do is, she's going to retract
02:58 - 03:05her scapula and try to kind of flatten her forearms against the floor. She's
03:05 - 03:11going to hold for 2, really try to open up, and she's going to relax.
03:12 - 03:19Make sure you're drawn-in. Be very careful that when you have them put their
03:19 - 03:24hands out like this they don't start doing this, that anterior tipping. That's
03:24 - 03:28a sign that their pectoralis minor is very tight ant heir trying to compensate around it.
03:28 - 03:32Obviously if that's what we're trying to stretch, we want to ensure that she stays
03:32 - 03:36down and back in her shoulder blades, posteriorly tipped, we want to ensure that
03:36 - 03:41she is retracting around this foam roll, and that she is in fact lengthening her
03:41 - 03:49both pectoralis minor and a major by reaching up, out and down towards the floor. So
03:49 - 03:53there you guys have it, that is your pec active stretch for both pectoralis minor
03:53 - 03:58and major. The protocols for active stretching are always the same, it's
03:58 - 04:02going to be 2 to 5 second holds at end range, contracting those functional
04:02 - 04:06antagonists, which in this case was mid traps and lower traps, and you're going
04:06 - 04:10to do 8 to 15 reps, or you're going to continue doing reps until you
04:10 - 04:13see a little bit of an increase in extensibility. I hope you enjoyed
04:13 - 04:17this video, I hope you enjoyed the technique. Thank you Leanne, and we'll see you
04:17 - 04:19again soon.

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