Standing External Rotation Slide with Towel

Stand upright with a towel held between your hands, arms bent at 90 degrees. Keep your elbows close to your body.

  1. Slowly rotate your forearms outward, pulling the towel apart.
  2. Hold the position for a moment, feeling the stretch in your shoulders.
  3. Return to the starting position and repeat.

How to perform the Standing External Rotation Slide with Towel

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Standing External Rotation Slide with Towel 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 latissimus dorsi.
  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 latissimus dorsi 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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