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Exercises

Dynamic stretches for the upper body: 9 moving drills with reps

Published October 24, 2026

The best dynamic stretches for the upper body are arm circles, plate halos, the dumbbell around-the-world, walkouts, rotational push-ups, spider planks, bear crawls, plank IYTWs and windshield wipers. Do 6 to 10 slow reps of four or five of them, after 2 minutes of jumping jacks, for a 6 to 8 minute routine that moves the shoulders, chest and spine through their full range.

  1. Arm Circles Shoulders
  2. Plate Halo Shoulders
  3. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  4. Rotational Push-Up Chest
  5. Spider Plank Abs
  6. Bear Crawl Abs, Shoulders
  7. Plank IYTW Abs, Upper Back
  8. Windshield Wipers Abs

Get warm first

Moving drills feel smoother once you are a little warm. Two minutes of jumping jacks is enough before you start.

Raise: whole-body cardio with the arms overhead

Jumping Jack

Calves, Quads

A short raise so the drills that follow start from warm muscles.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, feet together, hands resting by your thighs.
  2. Hop your feet out past hip width while you sweep both arms up until your hands meet above your head.
  3. Hop back to the start as the arms come down, and keep a steady rhythm on the balls of your feet.

Cues

  • Arms all the way up every rep
  • Soft knees on landing

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the arm swing short at shoulder height: the full overhead reach is the part that warms your shoulders.

Swap for: Star Jump, High Knees, Jump Rope

Build a session with Jumping Jack

Standing drills for the shoulders

These move the shoulder through circles and overhead arcs while you stand. Start with arm circles, then add a light plate or dumbbells for halos and the around-the-world once the circles feel easy.

Mobility: shoulder circles that grow from small to large

Arm Circles

Shoulders

The simplest dynamic stretch for the shoulders, and the easiest to grade: small circles first, then as big as you can make them.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your arms out sideways at shoulder height.
  2. Draw small forward circles with your hands, then make them gradually bigger.
  3. Do the same number backward, keeping your ribs down and your neck relaxed.

Cues

  • Start small, finish big
  • Both directions

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging your shoulders up to your ears: keep them low while the arms turn.

Swap for: Plate Halo, Dumbbell Around the World, Jumping Jack

Build a session with Arm Circles

Mobility: a light plate circled around your head

Plate Halo

Shoulders

The plate takes the shoulders through overhead and behind-the-head positions that a circle never reaches.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light plate by its edges in front of your chest.
  2. Circle it around your head, passing it close behind your neck, and bring it back in front.
  3. Alternate direction every rep and keep your hips and ribs still.

Cues

  • Plate close to your head
  • Ribs stay down

Common mistakes

  • Using a heavy plate: a light one lets the shoulders move through their whole range.

Swap for: Dumbbell Around the World, Arm Circles, Kettlebell Overhead Press

Build a session with Plate Halo

Mobility: straight-arm arc from the hips to overhead

Dumbbell Around the World

Shoulders

A big straight-arm arc that opens the chest and the front of the shoulders on the way up.

How to do it

  1. Stand holding light dumbbells by your sides.
  2. Sweep both arms out wide and up in a big arc until the dumbbells meet over your head.
  3. Retrace the arc down to your thighs under control.

Cues

  • Long arms the whole way
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get the dumbbells overhead: lighten them and squeeze your glutes.

Swap for: Plate Halo, Arm Circles, Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Build a session with Dumbbell Around the World

Floor drills for the chest, shoulders and spine

On the floor your shoulders carry your weight while the chest opens and the spine turns. Pick two or three and do 5 to 8 slow reps of each, moving through the biggest range you can control.

Mobility: hinge, walk to a plank and back

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

It stretches the hamstrings and back while loading the shoulders, so the upper and lower body warm together.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, bend at the hips, and put your palms down by your feet.
  2. Walk your hands forward until you reach a high plank with your shoulders over your wrists.
  3. Walk your hands back toward your feet and roll up to standing.

Cues

  • Shoulders over wrists in the plank
  • Small hand steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag in the plank: squeeze your glutes before you walk back.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Spider Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Walkout

Mobility: push-up that opens into a side reach

Rotational Push-Up

Chest

The reach toward the ceiling is a dynamic stretch for the chest and a rotation for the upper back in the same rep.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank hands below your shoulders.
  2. Do one push-up, then rotate onto one hand and reach the other arm straight to the ceiling.
  3. Bring the hand back down, do another push-up, and rotate to the other side.

Cues

  • Follow the top hand with your eyes
  • Stack the shoulders

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the turn: pause a beat with the arm up so the upper back actually rotates.

Swap for: Push-Up, Plank Shoulder Tap, Walkout

Build a session with Rotational Push-Up

Mobility: forearm plank with a knee drawn to the elbow

Spider Plank

Abs

Drawing each knee toward the elbow opens the hips and keeps the shoulders working in a plank.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a forearm plank, elbows under your shoulders and body in a straight line.
  2. Lift one foot and bring that knee out to the side toward the elbow on the same side.
  3. Put the foot back and switch sides without letting your hips rock.

Cues

  • Knee to the same elbow
  • Hips level

Common mistakes

  • Hiking the hips high to make room for the knee: stay long and move the knee a shorter distance.

Swap for: Mountain Climber, Walkout, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Spider Plank

Mobility: crawl on hands and feet with the knees low

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Crawling moves the shoulders under load in every direction while your trunk holds still.

How to do it

  1. Get on all fours with your knees bent and hovering just above the floor.
  2. Move one hand and the opposite foot forward a short step together.
  3. Repeat with the other pair, keeping your back flat, then crawl backward to where you started.

Cues

  • Knees an inch off the floor
  • Opposite hand and foot

Common mistakes

  • Pushing the hips high into a pike: keep them level with your shoulders.

Swap for: Walkout, Spider Plank, Gorilla Walk

Build a session with Bear Crawl

Mobility: plank with one arm tracing I, Y, T and W shapes

Plank IYTW

Abs, Upper Back

Tracing the four letters takes one shoulder through four angles while the other one holds you up.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank with your feet a little wider than hips.
  2. Lift one arm straight forward (I), then out at an angle (Y), then out to the side (T), then pull the elbow back (W).
  3. Place the hand back down and repeat with the other arm.

Cues

  • Thumb up on every letter
  • Hips stay square

Common mistakes

  • Twisting the torso to lift the arm higher: a lower arm with still hips is the goal.

Swap for: Plank Shoulder Tap, Dumbbell Chest-Supported Y Raise, Band Pull-Apart

Build a session with Plank IYTW

Mobility: lying knee sweep that rotates the spine

Windshield Wipers

Abs

With the shoulders pinned to the floor, the knee sweep rotates the spine and stretches across the chest and back.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms spread wide, knees bent to 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Lower both knees together toward one side while both shoulders stay on the floor.
  3. Bring them back through the middle and lower them to the other side.

Cues

  • Shoulders pinned down
  • Slow both ways

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the knees fast: move only as far as you can control the return.

Swap for: Dead Bug, Cable Woodchop, Russian Twist

Build a session with Windshield Wipers

Into the session

If you are about to lift, finish with an easy set of the first exercise. Before push-ups, that is one set at half effort.

Primer: standard push-up for the whole pressing pattern

Push-Up

Chest

One easy set connects the drills to the first lift of a pushing session.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands a little wider than your shoulders in a high plank.
  2. Lower your chest to just above the floor with the elbows angled about 45 degrees from your body.
  3. Press back up to straight arms in one line from heels to head.

Cues

  • Elbows at 45 degrees
  • Chest leads, hips follow

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides: tuck them a little toward your ribs.

Swap for: Incline Push-Up, Kneeling Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

Build a session with Push-Up

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Before an upper-body lifting session

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets21 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBarbells

You lift in a gym and want a short set of moving drills before your first press.

The routine stays standing and short so it fits between the locker room and the bench: circles, halos and walkouts for range, then rotational push-ups to open the chest. The last block is a ramp set of push-ups so the session in RIRLift starts warm.

Before Lifting
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Plate HaloEach direction. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
Rotational Push-UpPer side. 1 × 5 4 15 s
Push-Up1 warm-up set first 2 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the blocks in order with little rest, then go into your first lift. Total time is about 6 minutes.
How to progress
Add reps to the push-up set until it reaches 20 with 2 in reserve; the drills stay the same.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A floor flow on a rest or mobility day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets27 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You want 8 minutes of movement for stiff shoulders and upper back without lifting.

Floor drills give the biggest range, so this version is mostly crawling and planks with the shoulders carrying your weight, plus windshield wipers to rotate the spine. Every drill is slow and stops well short of tiring.

Floor Flow
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Bear CrawlSteps forward, then back. 2 × 6–8 4 15 s
Spider PlankPer side. 2 × 6 4 15 s
Plank IYTWPer arm. 2 × 4 4 15 s
Windshield WipersPer side. 2 × 6 4 15 s
How to run it
Go through the list twice with 30 seconds of rest between rounds.
How to progress
Add one rep per drill each week up to 10, then slow each rep down instead.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Before a throwing or racket sport

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You play tennis, softball, volleyball or another overhead sport and need the shoulders ready to swing.

Throwing and hitting need overhead range and speed, so this version uses the big standing arcs, the plank letters for each shoulder angle, and finishes with fast arm circles that build speed. There is no lifting block; practice is the session.

Before Practice
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 45 4 0 s
Arm CirclesEach direction. Get faster each rep. 1 × 15 4 15 s
Dumbbell Around the WorldLight dumbbells. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Plank IYTWPer arm. 1 × 4 4 15 s
Rotational Push-UpPer side. 1 × 5 4 15 s
How to run it
Do it right before practice, then start your sport's own warm-up throws or swings at half speed.
How to progress
Keep it the same. If a shoulder still feels tight at the first throws, repeat the halos and around-the-world once.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are 5 dynamic stretches for the upper body?

Arm circles, plate halos, walkouts, rotational push-ups and bear crawls. Together they cover circling the shoulders, reaching overhead, loading the shoulders in a plank, opening the chest and rotating the spine.

What is the difference between dynamic and static stretching?

Dynamic stretches move through a range repeatedly, like arm circles. Static stretches hold one position, like pulling an arm across your chest for 30 seconds. Use dynamic ones before training and static ones after.

How should I warm up before an upper body workout?

Two minutes of easy cardio, four or five of these drills for 6 to 10 reps, then 2 or 3 light sets of your first lift.

How many reps of each dynamic stretch should I do?

Six to ten slow reps per drill, or per side, is enough. Stop before the drill becomes tiring.

Can I do dynamic stretches every day?

Yes. They are light enough to use daily, on rest days as a short flow or before any session.