Duration exercise

Cat-Cow Stretch form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The cat-cow stretch is a gentle mobility drill performed on hands and knees, alternating between arching and rounding the spine to move every segment from the pelvis to the neck. Lifters use it in warm-ups and cooldowns to restore spinal mobility, ease lower-back stiffness after heavy loading, and rehearse the coordination between breath and spinal position that underpins good bracing.

Cat-Cow Stretch illustration

How to do Cat-Cow Stretch

  1. 1Start on your hands and knees with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips, spine in a neutral position.
  2. 2Inhale as you drop your belly toward the floor, lifting your chest and tailbone into the cow position.
  3. 3Exhale as you press the floor away and round your spine toward the ceiling, tucking your tailbone and chin into the cat position.
  4. 4Move slowly and segment by segment rather than hinging at just one point in the spine.
  5. 5Continue flowing between the two positions with your breath for 30 to 60 seconds, keeping the movement smooth and pain-free.

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Track Cat-Cow Stretch in Plates

Save this movement to a workout template, log sets and rest periods, and keep your training history in one focused gym tracker.