Stretching is one of those things that many people forget to do or feel like they don't have to. Nonetheless, it should be a part of your everyday routine to retrieve its array of benefits. Whether you're stretching before and after a workout, or after you wake up and before you go to bed, stretching daily is essential for it all.
Importance Of Stretching Daily
The best time to stretch is when your muscles are warm, such as after a walk or workout. Stretching after you exercise can help move inflammation out of your muscles and increase blood flow, reducing the risk of feeling sore or sluggish. However, stretching is still beneficial at any point of the day - so try to squeeze it in whenever you can. Research shows that when you hold a stretching pose for 10 to 30 seconds, you can instantly improve your range of motion around your joints and improve your flexibility. Besides physical benefits, stretching also has an array of mental benefits. Spending some time each day lengthening your limbs can reduce stress and cortisol levels. Thus a simple series of stretches daily can make you feel instantly better and clear your mind.
Best Daily Stretching Exercises
Since there are many benefits of stretching daily, we want to ensure you know the appropriate stretching exercises to do. Find some best stretches before you should be doing every day. Try to hold each stretch for at least 5-6 slow, deep breaths.
Standing Stretches Against The Wall
You should start your stretching routine by opening up your chest cavity. Stand facing a corner of a room with your arms at your sides and elbows bent at about shoulder height. Then press one palm into each wall while staggering your feet behind you. Slowly lean inward, pressing your chest towards the wall until you feel a stretch in your chest and shoulders. Hold this for a few breaths without allowing your forearms or hands to move. Standing near a wall, place the toes of your right foot on the base of the wall. Finally relax, and lean in towards the wall again with one heel on the floor and your toes bent against the wall, feeling the stretch in your calf. Make sure not to bend your back leg and only go as far as you can while keeping it straight. Hold this, then repeat on other side.
Laying Down Glute Stretches
You have a few stretching exercise options for your glutes, but all start with you lying down on your back. Do a bridge first, bending your knees and having your feet as close to your pelvis as possible. Then press down through your heels and lift your pelvis off the floor. Continue lifting until your body makes a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, with your shoulders still on the floor and your knees in line with your feet. Hold at the top before lowering back down after a few breaths. The next stretch is the figure-four, so come back to your knees bent and feet pressed into the ground. Cross your left ankle over your right knee, and then reach your hands around your right thigh. Pull your right thigh toward you, keeping your upper body on the floor. Finally hold for a few seconds, then repeat on the other side. This stretch can also be done by keeping one leg straight on the floor and the other leg straight up in the air with your hands wrapped around it.
Sitting Oblique & Hamstring Stretches
Now sit up so you can stretch your core, legs, and flexors. The first seated stretch begins with sitting with your legs extended straight in front of you. Then cross your right leg over your left, planting your right foot outside your left knee.
Twist to the right, placing your left elbow outside your right knee, and look over your shoulder. Hold, then repeat on other side. Next, with your legs straight and in the shape of the letter “V." Lean forward at the hips and reach your torso towards your toes, getting your upper body as close to the floor as possible between your stretched legs. Hold this, and then walk your arms back toward your body to sit back up. Then move your legs straight out together, reach your toes, and bend your body forward again. You'll get a nice deep stretch, but be sure not to overdo it.
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-Gina
