Serratus Anterior

The serratus anterior exercise strengthens the serratus anterior muscle, which is important for shoulder stability and movement.

  1. Stand or sit with your arms at your sides.
  2. Raise your arms to shoulder height, keeping them straight.
  3. Push your arms forward, engaging your serratus anterior.
  4. Hold for a moment, then return to the starting position.

How to perform the Serratus Anterior

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Serratus Anterior 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 pectoralis major.
  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 pectoralis major 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.

Build a free routine

Stage exercises here, then sign up to save them as a real Fitly routine — synced to web and mobile.

View staged routine (0)

Related exercises

0 exercises staged Save your routine — sign up free.