Pike to Cobra

The Pike to Cobra exercise transitions between two positions, engaging your core and stretching your back.

  1. Start in a pike position with your hips raised and hands on the ground.
  2. Lower your hips and arch your back into the cobra position, lifting your chest.
  3. Return to the pike position and repeat.

How to perform the Pike to Cobra

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Pike to Cobra using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your deltoids.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your deltoids rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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