Let’s go, we motivate ourselves to stretch our body a little with these 18 super effective exercises. You’ll see, it’s not the sea to drink at all! Gently and simply, these stretches will help you increase range of motion and promote muscle relaxation.
Stop bad habits!
One of the biggest mistakes gym, dance and fitness enthusiasts make is not stretching before and after the session. However, it is important to send a message to your body to get it into the swing of things: it must understand that it will move from rest to movement. Unfortunately, the majority of people neglect the stretching phase and go straight to the heart of the matter, which can destabilize the body. To avoid certain muscle and joint damage, it is nevertheless necessary to prepare him for a greater effort by adopting light movements before taking action. Just as it’s essential to set aside the last few minutes of your workout for relaxing your muscles.
By the way, stretching is not just limited to “small stretches” before and after exercise. It is even one of the flagship exercises in fitness centers that often offer specific classes in this discipline. Obviously, you don’t have to go to the gym to enjoy it: there is no shortage of online tutorials to carry out a multitude of exercises quietly at home or during a break in your workplace.
What are the benefits of stretching?
Generally, people do stretches in an attempt to correct their posture. But that’s not the only benefit: by doing good stretches on a daily basis, it helps to release tension, restore energy, increase muscle flexibility and improve balance. Many people even feel that stretching and moving their muscles is very beneficial for completing certain daily activities more easily, such as simply walking up and down stairs, changing a car tire, cleaning the house, or playing with the kids.
However, studies on the benefits of stretching show mixed results. Some research indicates that they do not specifically reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Others also show that stretching muscles immediately before a short run, for example, can slightly decrease performance. Nevertheless, research has shown that stretching can help improve flexibility and, therefore, range of motion, as well as relieve neck and shoulder tension.
And having better flexibility is far from trivial, since it offers many advantages:
- Improved performance in physical activities.
- Reduced risk of potential injury.
- Joints move better throughout their range of motion.
- Increased blood flow to the muscles.
- Muscles work more efficiently.
- Better ability to perform daily activities.
Time for action: here are 18 stretching exercises to do at home
Exercise 1 – Hip flexor muscle stretch
Start in a semi-kneeling position. As you slowly move your right hip forward, you should start to feel a stretch in the front of the hip. Grasp your back foot and squeeze your glutes to increase the stretch of your hip flexors.
Exercise 2 – Pectoral Stretch
Stand facing the wall and slowly turn your back to the wall while placing your right hand on the wall. Repeat the exercise with the opposite hand.
Exercise 3 – Camel Pose
This stretch is reserved for people who already have good flexibility. Sit on your heels and place your hands behind you while pushing your hips up and forward. Avoid putting too much pressure on your lumbar spine. If you have neck problems, avoid letting your head fall back.
Exercise 4 – Glute stretch
Starting from a seated position, slowly pull your leg toward your chest and rotate your hip outwards, while keeping your spine straight. Repeat with the opposite leg.
Exercise 5 – Stretching the lateral neck muscles
While sitting with your back straight and your left arm resting, tilt your head to the left and try to touch your ear with your shoulder. Repeat the exercise in the other direction.
Exercise 6 – Stretching the anterior neck muscles
Start by placing your hands on your hips. Then, straighten your back and gently tilt your head back. If you want to stretch the muscles more intensely, you can use your hands to place them on your forehead.
Exercise 7 – Stretching the neck and back muscles
Start by standing with your feet together. Keeping the spine straight, slowly tilt your hips back and round your upper back, tucking your chin toward your chest.
Exercise 8 – Stretch on the side of the shoulders
Straighten one arm over your body and gently press down with your other hand to increase the stretch. Repeat with the opposite arm.
Exercise 9 – Triangle Pose
Start with a wide stance, with the front foot right and the back foot at 90°. Place your hand on your front leg or on the floor as you sit on your front hip, always keeping your back straight.
Exercise 10 – Lateral Curves with Support
With your spine straight, slowly push your hips to the side while keeping your shoulders facing outward. Repeat on the other side. Caution: It’s best to avoid this type of stretching if you regularly have lower back problems.
Exercise 11 – Dog Pose (Upside Down Near the Wall)
Stand far enough away from a wall or stand so that your body is parallel to the floor when you touch the wall. Adopt this position by hanging from your hips and keeping your spine straight.
Once in position, push your chest forward, creating a slight arch in your upper back and stretching your lats and pecs. If your hamstrings are tight, try bending your knees.
Exercise 12 – Bend forward on one leg
Start this position with one foot in front of the other. Bring your hands to your hips and, keeping your back straight, begin to bend from the hips. Repeat with the other foot.
Exercise 13 – Butterfly Pose
Get into a sitting position, bringing the soles of your feet together and sitting up straight on your sit bones. Continue this stretch by pressing down on your knees with your hands.
The closer your feet are to the body, the more you stretch your groin muscles. Move your feet away from your hips and slowly rotate your torso to relax your back muscles.
Exercise 14 – Wide-Angle Forward Folding
This is a great exercise to open the hips and stretch the hamstrings.
Sit on the floor and spread your legs wide. Don’t bend your knees and keep your legs on the floor. Lean forward while sliding your arms over your shins and pulling your torso behind you.
Exercise 15 – Seated Pigeon Pose
Sit down and place your feet in front of you. Bring one hand behind you as you rotate your hip outward and bring one foot above your knee. To increase hip extension, slowly lean forward: start the movement by articulating yourself.In the case of the São Paulo São Paulo, the S Repeat with the left leg.
Exercise 16 – Posture with forward bending (sitting position)
Sit on the floor and keep your legs straight and tightly together. With your legs resting on the floor, slowly bend your torso forward.
Exercise 17 – Spinal Torsion
This is an important step for those who suffer from sciatica. Start by lying on the floor. Then bend your right knee and move your leg across your body to the left. Gently press down with your hand to increase the stretch. Repeat with the other leg.
Exercise 18 – Child’s Pose
Get on all fours and slowly move your hips back, trying to touch the ground with your forehead.
And there you have it, it wasn’t that complicated, was it? So get into the habit of stretching the body: you will quickly feel a boost of energy and tone!
