What Is the Proper Way to Stretch a Muscle
Daniel Fishel/Thrillist
If yous don't want to walk around all hunched shoulders and shuffle steps like an eighty-yr-onetime past the time you're twoscore, you demand to make stretching a priority. Regular stretching tin can aid maintain and improve range of motion and mobility, prevent injuries, and ease chronic pain -- particularly pain caused by muscle imbalances brought on by besides much sitting.
Plus, stretching just feels adept. Information technology's like a relaxing, energizing coffee intermission for your whole body. And while there are hundreds of stretches to choose from, if you lot're looking for attainable, prophylactic stretches that target every major muscle grouping, you can't go incorrect with the options on this list.
Triceps: Overhead triceps stretch
Sometimes the oldies are still the goodies. This triceps stretch harkens back to elementary-school phys ed, and its effectiveness is still legit.
- Stand alpine with good posture. Attain your left arm upward into the air over your head, then bend your elbow, placing your left hand flat on your upper back, as flexibility allows.
- With your right mitt, grasp your left arm, just above the elbow, and use your right hand to lightly pull your left elbow toward your head as your left hand reaches further down your back. You should experience a stretch through your left triceps.
- When you feel a good stretch, hold for 20 to 30 seconds before switching sides.
Biceps: Standing biceps stretch
The biceps muscles actually cross two joints -- the shoulder and the elbow. In order to effectively stretch the biceps, y'all have to extend each of these joints. One good option is the standing biceps stretch, which is sometimes called the "chest opener," as information technology can also be used to stretch the chest and shoulders.
- Stand tall, feet shoulder-distance apart, knees slightly bent. With your arms extended, clasp your hands direct behind your back, palms touching.
- From this position, rotate your wrists backward, opening your however-clasped hands and then your palms are facing the basis.
- Keeping your elbows direct, enhance your artillery behind your body until you experience a stretch through your biceps. Hold for 20 to thirty seconds, release, and repeat. To get a deeper stretch through your shoulders and breast, expect upwardly toward the ceiling and describe your shoulders backward to broaden your chest.
Forearms: Alternating wrist pull
Forearms kinda get the shaft when it comes to stretching and strengthening, but if you do a lot of typing, they probably deserve a good stretch.
- From a seated or continuing position, extend both arms straight in front end of your breast. Flex your left wrist toward you, so your fingers bespeak upward, so rotate it to the outside until your fingers point toward the floor.
- Clasp your left palm with your right manus and lightly pull your left paw toward you until you feel a stretch through your left forearm. Agree for 10 seconds, then switch sides. Repeat two to iii times per side.
Shoulders: Cross-body shoulder stretch
Given that your shoulders are involved in pretty much every upper-torso movement you do, that means they're involved in pretty much every upper-body stretch you do, too. The nice thing about the cantankerous-body shoulder stretch is that it targets the posterior side of your shoulder and into your upper dorsum.
- Stand up with your anxiety shoulder-width apart, knees slightly aptitude, both artillery extended down at your sides.
- Keeping your left elbow straight, enhance your left arm directly in front of your breast, and then reach it across your body, toward your correct shoulder.
- Bend your right elbow and squeeze your left arm simply below the elbow with your right hand. Utilise your right hand to gently press your left arm closer to your chest. When you lot experience a adept stretch through your shoulder and into your triceps, agree the position for 20 to xxx seconds before switching sides.
Back: Cat, cow, child'south pose sequence
There are many, many muscle groups that span the length and breadth of your back. And because these muscles are involved in and then many different movements at then many dissimilar joints, information technology's hard to choose simply ane stretch that does a practiced job at maintaining mobility and easing tension.
That'southward why I've called a mutual yoga-based sequence that really does a good task of targeting your unabridged back, while too stretching the chest, shoulders, abs, and hips. Plus, the cat-cow practise is known to assist convalesce depression-back pain, an all-too-common plague of modern life.
- Start on your easily and knees on an exercise mat, your palms positioned under your shoulders, your knees positioned under your hips, and your back and neck in a flat (neutral) position.
- Enter cow pose as y'all inhale by looking upward and stretching your chest forward equally you simultaneously press your hips upward, trying to articulate your tailbone toward the ceiling. This action will cause your depression dorsum to dip toward the flooring, stretching your abs in the process. Hold for a count of 3.
- Enter cat pose as you breathe past lowering your head between your shoulders and tucking your tailbone under, scooping your hips forward and pressing your upper dorsum and shoulders toward the ceiling. Round your shoulders outward to broaden the stretch across your upper dorsum. Use your abs to go on your hips scooped forwards to feel a dainty stretch through your low dorsum and hips. Hold for a count of three.
- Return to a neutral, tabletop-like position on your next inhale, then equally you breathe, enter child'due south pose by sitting dorsum on your heels, your breast folding over your quads every bit you reach your arms equally far every bit you can over your head, your palms apartment on the footing. Concur this position for three deep breaths, actually sinking your hips into your heels with each exhale.
- After three breaths, return to the tabletop position and perform 3 to 5 more than rounds of the sequence.
Breast: Wall-assisted single-arm chest stretch
Some of the other exercises on this listing have already helped stretch out the chest, only to really target each side of your body, you tin't go incorrect with the wall-assisted unmarried-arm chest stretch.
- Stand up with your left side perpendicular to a wall, about 1 to 2ft away from the wall.
- Reach your left arm behind you lot, your elbow extended, and place your left palm apartment on the wall. Kickoff with your hand positioned then your left arm is parallel to the floor.
- You should experience a stretch through your chest and the front end of your shoulder. To deepen the stretch, shift your weight toward the wall, or slowly motion your feet closer to the wall. When you experience a good stretch, hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds before switching sides.
- Y'all tin can modify the bending of the stretch past positioning your palm higher or lower on the wall.
Abs: Stability ball-assisted backbend
Backbends are an excellent fashion to stretch the entire front one-half of your body, from your chest and shoulders, down your core and into your hip flexors and quads. Unfortunately, most people over 25 have a hard time contorting their bodies like an Olympic gymnast.
Enter: the stability ball. Just about anyone can enjoy a great ab, hip, chest, and shoulder stretch by performing a modified backbend using a stability ball for support.
- Sit on a stability ball, your anxiety planted shoulder-distance apart, your knees aptitude at xc-degree angles.
- Slowly step forward every bit you simultaneously lean back, lying down on tiptop of the ball.
- With your knees still bent, extend your arms over your head and reach them backward, allowing your back to curvation with the back up of the ball. You should feel a good stretch through your abs, chest, and shoulders.
- Go on reaching astern as far as you lot can, and if you feel comfortable, pace your anxiety forward, extending your knees to enjoy a stretch through your quads and hip flexors.
- Concord the supported backbend for thirty to sixty seconds, animate deeply throughout.
Glutes: Supine figure-4 glute stretch
If you're active, particularly if you're a runner who overlooks cross-training, nothing feels every bit expert as a deep glute stretch. The muscles of the glutes, particularly those involved in hip abduction -- the gluteus medius and minimus -- are prone to neglect. They're frequently non strengthened as much as some of the other muscles of the lower body, and they're prone to lengthening and weakening in individuals who do a lot of sitting (hello, desk chore).
These combined effects lead to all sorts of muscle imbalances through the glutes, low dorsum, and hips, which a skillful glute stretch can help resolve.
- Lie on your back, your knees bent, feet flat on the flooring. Cross your right talocrural joint over your left knee, as if creating a "4" with your legs.
- Contract your abs to go along your low back in contact with the ground, then lift your left foot from the flooring. Reach both arms forward to grasp the back of your left thigh.
- From this position, use your artillery to pull your left leg closer to your body to deepen the stretch. Keep your right articulatio genus pointed toward the side of the room -- don't let it adduct toward your midline. If y'all're flexible plenty, you lot can use your correct elbow to press your right genu away. When you feel a deep stretch through your right glute, hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds before switching sides.
Quads: Standing quad stretch
You lot're probably familiar with the standing quad stretch, another phys-ed favorite. In that location's only no reason to mess with a good matter.
- Stand tall, feet planted roughly hip-altitude apart, knees slightly bent.
- Shift your weight to your left foot, bend your correct knee behind you, and lift your correct foot toward your aforementioned-side glute.
- Grasp the top of your right foot with your right hand to pull your correct heel closer to your glute. Make sure your right genu is pointing toward the ground, your right leg still aligned with your left leg. When you experience a skilful stretch, agree the position for 20 to xxx seconds earlier switching legs.
Hip flexors: Continuing hip flexor stretch
Your hip flexors, the muscles running forth the front of your hips, are notorious for shortening and tightening when you lot spend all day sitting. (Again with the sitting!) If you have a desk job, it's specially important to take time to loosen them up to help prevent the imbalances that can lead to back hurting.
- Stand up alpine, your feet roughly hip-distance apart, your knees slightly aptitude.
- Take a wide step forward with your right human foot, both feet solidly planted on the ground.
- Keeping your chest and torso tall, bend both knees slightly and sink your hips downward an inch or two, equally if inbound a "baby lunge."
- From this position, constrict your hips nether and press them forrard until y'all experience a stretch through the front of your left hip. Hold for xx to 30 seconds earlier switching sides.
Hamstrings: Strap-assisted supine hamstring stretch
There are about a million stretches to choose betwixt when stretching your hamstrings, but the strap-assisted stretch is 1 of the safer options because yous're lying flat on your back, removing the sometimes troublesome frontwards fold. All y'all need to perform the stretch is some blazon of strap. Y'all can employ a yoga strap, a chugalug, a towel, or even a tie.
- Sit on a mat, your knees aptitude, feet flat on the floor. Position the middle of your strap under your right pes, then concur the ends of the strap in each hand.
- Lie back on the mat, then lift your right human foot, pressing it against the strap. Extend your right leg fully.
- Draw your right leg up and toward your body, keeping your knee direct. Use your easily to pull the strap lightly and deepen the stretch. When you experience a practiced stretch, hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds earlier switching sides.
Calves: Wall-assisted calf stretch
Last, just certainly not least, is the much-required calf stretch. Your calves have a beating, what with carrying your total body weight around all solar day, so get alee and give them a minute of love -- it's truly the least y'all tin can do to keep them happy and good for you.
- Stand facing a wall, your feet hip-distance apart. Press your palms into the wall at chest height, then lunge your right foot backward, planting your pes on the ground, bending your front knee every bit needed, but keeping your back knee direct.
- With your torso straight, lean forward into the wall, stretching the back of your right calf. When you feel a good stretch, hold for 20 to 30 seconds earlier switching sides.
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Laura Williams is an exercise physiologist and fitness author who finally caved and started stretching regularly. You lot should too. Follow her on Twitter @girlsgonesporty.
Source: https://www.thrillist.com/health/nation/best-stretches-back-shoulder-hamstring-leg-hip-flexor-stretches
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