Cat-Cow Stretch
37
/100
Best when...
- You feel stiff from sitting and want to undo desk posture quickly.
- You only have about a minute between tasks or meetings.
Not ideal when...
- You cannot leave your desk area or need something very office-subtle.
- You are in a crowded office or tight workspace.
Pairs well with...
a desk-friendly posture reset to round out the break
Better than X when...
Longer break routines when you only have 60 seconds and need immediate value.
Office-clothes alternative
Sit-to-Stand or Seated March are easier alternatives when office clothes or limited space make this awkward.
Compound movement primarily engaging erector spinae, rectus abdominis
MET 2 (modeled), 0.6x walking
Joint ROM: 80%, posture benefit: 75%
Requires open floor space
erector spinae
rectus abdominis
for 10 reps · roughly 0.3 min of brisk walking for a 70 kg person
37
5 reps
37
10 reps
37
15 reps
37
20 reps
37
30 reps
“Cat-Cow Stretch scores 37/100, strongest in mobility. Needs open space.”
- Metabolic cost varies with body weight and fitness level
- mobility value, desk practicality, muscular demand are estimated, not directly measured
- Limited research data for this exercise
Measured (0)
Derived (1)
- caloric expenditure
Modeled (6)
- MET value
- erector spinae activation
- rectus abdominis activation
- joint ROM
- posture correction
- desk practicality
2011 Compendium of Physical Activities
Barbara E. Ainsworth, William L. Haskell, ... et al.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2011) · Vol. 43(8) · pp. 1575–1581
Established MET reference values for common activities