Intercostals
Exercises that target the intercostals, grouped by whether they stretch or strengthen it.
The intercostals are the muscles layered between the ribs. The external and internal layers raise and lower the rib cage during breathing, and they also assist trunk rotation and side-bending, helping the rib cage move as a coordinated unit.
With a chronically elevated, braced chest — common in upper-crossed patterns — or with shallow, chest-dominant breathing, the intercostals can stiffen and limit rib expansion. That reinforces a rigid upper body and makes full, relaxed diaphragmatic breathing harder.
They are freed indirectly rather than isolated: thoracic mobility work (extension over a foam roller, rotation drills) plus breathing practice that restores full rib excursion tends to do more than trying to stretch the ribs directly.
