Puppy Pose

Muscles worked by the Puppy Pose

Primary

LatsLatissimus DorsiRear DeltsPosterior Deltoid

Secondary

Lower BackErector SpinaeTrapsTrapezius

Also called: lats, lat, latissimus dorsi, latissimus, back wings, rear deltoid.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Puppy Pose

1. Kneel on all fours with the hips over the knees and the hands under the shoulders.
2. Walk the hands forward and lower the chest towards the floor, keeping the hips high.
3. Rest the forehead or the chin on the mat and let the armpits soften downwards.
4. Hold the position for the prescribed time, breathing into the upper back.
5. Walk the hands back and sit onto the heels to come out.

Form tips

• Keep the hips stacked over the knees; sitting back turns this into child's pose.
• Press the palms down and lift the elbows off the floor to keep the arms working.
• Rest the forehead on a block if the chest does not reach comfortably.

At a glance

Puppy Pose in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Band Pull Apart
• Banded Rear Delt Stretch
• Barbell Rear Delt Row
• Cable External Rotation
• Cable Face Pull
• Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch
• Double Kettlebell Rear Delt Row
• Dumbbell Reverse Fly

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": "puppy-pose",
  "name_en": "Puppy Pose",
  "name_de": "Welpen-Haltung",
  "name_es": "Postura del Cachorro",
  "description_en": "A kneeling pose halfway between child's pose and downward dog: the hips stay over the knees while the chest melts towards the floor, opening the shoulders and the upper back.",
  "description_de": "Eine kniende Haltung zwischen Kindhaltung und herabschauendem Hund: die Hüften bleiben über den Knien, die Brust sinkt Richtung Boden und öffnet Schultern und oberen Rücken.",
  "description_es": "Una postura de rodillas a medio camino entre la postura del niño y el perro boca abajo: las caderas quedan sobre las rodillas mientras el pecho se acerca al suelo, abriendo hombros y espalda alta.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "posterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Kneel on all fours with the hips over the knees and the hands under the shoulders.",
    "Walk the hands forward and lower the chest towards the floor, keeping the hips high.",
    "Rest the forehead or the chin on the mat and let the armpits soften downwards.",
    "Hold the position for the prescribed time, breathing into the upper back.",
    "Walk the hands back and sit onto the heels to come out."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Geh in den Vierfüßlerstand, die Hüften über den Knien, die Hände unter den Schultern.",
    "Wander mit den Händen nach vorn und senk die Brust Richtung Boden, die Hüften bleiben hoch.",
    "Leg Stirn oder Kinn auf die Matte und lass die Achseln nach unten sinken.",
    "Halte die Position für die vorgegebene Zeit und atme in den oberen Rücken.",
    "Wander mit den Händen zurück und setz dich auf die Fersen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Colócate a cuatro apoyos con las caderas sobre las rodillas y las manos bajo los hombros.",
    "Camina las manos hacia delante y baja el pecho hacia el suelo manteniendo las caderas altas.",
    "Apoya la frente o la barbilla en la esterilla y deja que las axilas se ablanden hacia abajo.",
    "Mantén la posición durante el tiempo indicado, respirando hacia la espalda alta.",
    "Camina las manos de vuelta y siéntate sobre los talones para salir."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the hips stacked over the knees; sitting back turns this into child's pose.",
    "Press the palms down and lift the elbows off the floor to keep the arms working.",
    "Rest the forehead on a block if the chest does not reach comfortably."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Lass die Hüften über den Knien - setzt du dich zurück, wird daraus die Kindhaltung.",
    "Druck die Handflächen aktiv nach unten und heb die Ellbogen vom Boden, damit die Arme arbeiten.",
    "Leg die Stirn auf einen Block, wenn die Brust nicht bequem hinunterkommt."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén las caderas sobre las rodillas; sentarte atrás convierte esto en la postura del niño.",
    "Presiona las palmas hacia abajo y despega los codos del suelo para que los brazos sigan activos.",
    "Apoya la frente en un bloque si el pecho no baja con comodidad."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/puppy-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 === "puppy-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.