Dolphin Pose

Muscles worked by the Dolphin Pose

Primary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidTrapsTrapezius

Secondary

HamstringsHamstring MusclesSerratusSerratus Anterior

Also called: front deltoid, anterior delt, front delt, anterior deltoid, trap, traps.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Dolphin Pose

1. Kneel and place the forearms on the floor shoulder-width apart with the elbows under the shoulders.
2. Tuck the toes and lift the hips up and back until the body forms an inverted V.
3. Press the forearms down and draw the shoulders away from the ears; let the heels stay high.
4. Hold the position for the prescribed time, keeping the neck relaxed between the arms.
5. Lower the knees to the floor to come out.

Form tips

• Keep the elbows from sliding apart; a strap around the upper arms holds the width.
• Bend the knees generously so the spine stays long instead of chasing straight legs.
• Walk the feet slightly closer to the elbows to take more weight into the shoulders.

At a glance

Dolphin Pose in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Arnold Press
• Banded Shoulder Stretch
• Barbell Front Raise
• Barbell Overhead Press
• Barbell Shrug
• Barbell Upright Row
• Behind the Neck Press
• Bodyweight Overhead Press

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "dolphin-pose",
  "name_en": "Dolphin Pose",
  "name_de": "Delfin-Haltung",
  "name_es": "Postura del Delfín",
  "description_en": "An inverted V held on the forearms: the hips lift towards the ceiling while the shoulders take the load, which makes it the standard preparation for forearm inversions.",
  "description_de": "Ein umgekehrtes V auf den Unterarmen: die Hüften schieben nach oben, die Schultern tragen die Last - die Standardvorbereitung für Unterarm-Umkehrhaltungen.",
  "description_es": "Una V invertida sostenida sobre los antebrazos: las caderas suben hacia el techo mientras los hombros asumen la carga, la preparación estándar para las inversiones sobre antebrazos.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings",
    "serratus_anterior"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "calisthenics"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Kneel and place the forearms on the floor shoulder-width apart with the elbows under the shoulders.",
    "Tuck the toes and lift the hips up and back until the body forms an inverted V.",
    "Press the forearms down and draw the shoulders away from the ears; let the heels stay high.",
    "Hold the position for the prescribed time, keeping the neck relaxed between the arms.",
    "Lower the knees to the floor to come out."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Knie dich hin und setz die Unterarme schulterbreit auf, die Ellbogen unter den Schultern.",
    "Stell die Zehen auf und heb die Hüften nach oben und hinten, bis der Körper ein umgekehrtes V bildet.",
    "Druck die Unterarme in den Boden und zieh die Schultern von den Ohren weg; die Fersen dürfen hoch bleiben.",
    "Halte die Position für die vorgegebene Zeit, der Nacken bleibt entspannt zwischen den Armen.",
    "Setz die Knie ab, um herauszukommen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Arrodíllate y apoya los antebrazos en el suelo a la anchura de los hombros, con los codos bajo los hombros.",
    "Mete los dedos de los pies y eleva las caderas arriba y atrás hasta formar una V invertida.",
    "Presiona los antebrazos contra el suelo y aleja los hombros de las orejas; los talones pueden quedar altos.",
    "Mantén la posición durante el tiempo indicado, con el cuello relajado entre los brazos.",
    "Baja las rodillas al suelo para salir."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the elbows from sliding apart; a strap around the upper arms holds the width.",
    "Bend the knees generously so the spine stays long instead of chasing straight legs.",
    "Walk the feet slightly closer to the elbows to take more weight into the shoulders."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Lass die Ellbogen nicht auseinanderrutschen - ein Gurt um die Oberarme hält die Breite.",
    "Beug die Knie großzügig, damit die Wirbelsäule lang bleibt, statt gestreckte Beine zu erzwingen.",
    "Geh mit den Füßen etwas näher an die Ellbogen, um mehr Gewicht in die Schultern zu bringen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Evita que los codos se abran; una cinta alrededor de los brazos mantiene la distancia.",
    "Flexiona bien las rodillas para que la columna siga larga en lugar de perseguir piernas rectas.",
    "Acerca un poco los pies a los codos para llevar más peso a los hombros."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/dolphin-pose-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "dolphin-pose");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.