Stretching exercises on the mat. Easy-to-understand stretching exercises for beginners at home. Downward facing dog near the wall
You need to stretch after warming up. This way you can deepen the stretch without injuring your muscles and ligaments.
Warm up before stretching
When you stretch after a workout, your muscles are already warmed up and no additional warm-up is required. If you decide to arrange a separate stretching lesson, first do a few exercises:
- Joint warm-up: twirl your joints, bend and twist your body.
- 5-7 minutes of cardio: running or Jumping Jacks, Rock Climber, running in place with high lifting knees, .
Once you've warmed up a bit, you can start stretching.
How and how much to stretch
With these exercises you can arrange independent study by stretching and stretch all the muscles of the body well. However, it will take about 60–90 minutes. For a quick stretch, choose one or two exercises for each muscle group involved in the workout.
To give your muscles a good stretch, hold each pose for 30 seconds to two minutes. You can remain still or gently spring. Sudden movements are fraught with injury, so leave them for another sport.
We will give exercises for stretching from top to bottom: neck, shoulders and arms, chest and back, abs, buttocks, thighs, legs.
Neck stretching exercises
Tilt your head back, stretching the front of your neck. From this position, tilt your head to the left. For greater effect, place your left palm on the right side of your head, but do not press hard.
Place your right hand on the left side of your head. Tilt your head forward and to the side, increase the pressure with your hand.
Repeat on the other side.
Place one hand on the back of your head and the other on your chin. Lower your head, making a double chin. At the same time, the neck remains straight, the back of the head tends upward. You should feel it in the back of your neck, especially at the base of your skull.
Shoulder stretches
4. Front Shoulder Stretch
Place your hands behind your back, clasp your wrist with one hand and the other. Bend your elbows and lift your wrists higher. Push your chest forward and feel the stretch in the front of your shoulders.
5. Mid-Shoulder Stretch
Grab your opposite elbow with your hand, press your shoulder towards you and pull it down. Repeat with the other hand.
6. Back Shoulder Stretch
Grasp your right hand with your left above the elbow, press it to your body and straighten it, lower it right shoulder down. With your left hand, pull your right hand up, lifting it with your elbow. Feel the tension in your backside.
Repeat with the other hand.
7. Triceps stretch
Go to the wall, lift your left elbow up, and place your forearm behind your back. Lower your left shoulder blade down. To check that it has actually dropped and will not rise during the stretch, place your right hand below your left armpit.
Repeat on the other side.
8. Biceps stretch
Grab a doorknob, counter, or other support and turn your back to it. Turn your elbow upward and move your body slightly forward.
Repeat with the other hand.
This pose allows you to simultaneously stretch the triceps of one arm and the front of the shoulder of the other. Place one hand behind your back from above so that your elbow points upward, and the other from below so that your elbow points to the floor. Try to bring your wrists together at the level of your shoulder blades.
Switch hands.
10. Wrist Extensor Stretch
Sit on your knees, place your hands in front of you so that the backs of your hands touch the floor and your fingers point towards each other. Gently shift your weight into your hands, stretching your forearms. To enhance the effect, try clenching your fists.
Chest stretching exercises
11. Chest stretch in the doorway
Go to the doorway, lean your elbows on the doorframes and push your chest forward, pectoral muscles.
Place your hand on the wall, lower your shoulder and turn in the opposite direction. Repeat with the other hand.
Back stretching exercises
Stand next to a rack, exercise machine or other support, turn your left shoulder towards it. With your right hand, grab the rack high above your head, move your pelvis to the right and down, stretching the entire right side bodies.
Repeat on the other side.
14. Stretching the lower back muscles
Sit on the floor, move your right leg forward, left leg back. Bend your knees at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly more. Place your right hand on the floor, raise your left above your head. Pull your left leg down and back, tilt your body forward and twist towards your right leg.
Switch legs.
Sit on the floor, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Grasp your shins with your hands inside, place your wrists on your feet. Lean forward as low as possible.
Sit on the floor, buttocks should touch your heels. Lean forward, lie on your stomach on your knees and extend your arms.
Get on all fours, then move your pelvis back and up so that your body resembles an angle. Your arms and back should be stretched out in one line, your knees can be bent, and your heels can be lifted off the floor. The main thing is that your back remains straight, without rounding in the lower back.
Grab a low horizontal bar and hang freely, relaxing your body. Feet should remain on the ground. Relax them, bend your knees slightly.
Lie on the floor on your back, arms along your body, legs straight. Raise your legs and then throw them behind your head. Hands rest with elbows on the floor, hands support. Do not lean on your neck, the fulcrum is your shoulders.
Abdominal stretching exercises
Get on your knees, push your chest up, lengthening your spine, and then lean back, placing your hands on your heels. Try to bend into thoracic region. Don't throw your head back, look up.
Lie on the floor on your stomach, place your hands under your shoulders. Push yourself up, your pelvis rises, your legs remain on the floor. Lower your shoulders, bend in the chest.
Stand straight with your feet together. Raise your arms and join your palms above your head. Bend your chest and tilt your body back. Tighten to avoid strong arching in the lower back.
Stand up straight, raise your arms above your head, clasp your fingers and turn your palms up. Stretch up and bend first to one side and then to the other.
Lie on the floor on your back, arms out to the sides, palms down. Move your pelvis to the left, lift left leg, bending it at the knee, take it behind your right leg and try to place your knee on the floor. Turn your head to the left and relax.
Repeat the exercise on the other side.
Exercises for stretching the buttocks
25. Lying stretch
Lie on the floor on your back, raise your knees bent. Place the ankle of your left foot on the knee of your right. Press the knee of your right leg onto your left to deepen it. Repeat with the other leg.
Get on all fours, place your right ankle on your left knee. Push your pelvis back to deepen the stretch. Repeat with the other leg.
27. Seated stretching
Sit on the floor, stretch your legs forward, straighten your back. Bend one leg at the knee, grab your shin with your hands and press it to your chest. The shin should be parallel to the floor, the forearms lie on top and press it to the chest, one hand covers the other.
Repeat with the other leg.
Sit on the floor, bend one leg at the knee at a right angle and move it forward, take the other back and straighten it. You can lean forward and place your forearms on the floor.
If you have difficulty doing this pose on the floor, try placing your foot on an elevated platform.
Exercises to stretch the front of the thigh
Calf Stretching Exercises
48. Stretching against the wall
Press the toe of your right foot against the wall, take your left foot a step and a half back. The feet are pressed tightly to the floor, the left leg is straight. Try to reach the wall with your right knee, this will stretch the muscles of your left leg.
Switch legs.
Stand close to the wall. Place your right toe on the wall, take your left leg a step and a half back. Bend your left leg at the knee, increasing the stretch. Switch legs and repeat.
Sit on the floor, stretch your legs straight in front of you. Place one leg on the thigh of the other. Grab your foot with your opposite hand and pull your toe up.
Switch legs.
Stretching is an important part of any type of exercise. Regardless of whether you are an athlete or office worker, similar exercises will provide positive impact on your health and well-being. Stretching improves your posture, increases your range of motion, and can prevent injury and reduce muscle pain. Below are 15 simple, but at the same time very effective exercises for stretches that will help keep you fit and healthy.
1
Technique: Stretch and straighten your neck. Slowly tilt your head to the right, trying to touch your ear to your shoulder. Repeat to the left.
Effect: This exercise allows you to stretch and strengthen all the muscles of the neck.
2
Technique: Keep your back straight, placing the fingers of both hands behind your head. Apply gentle pressure to your head. Try to touch your chin to your chest.
Effect: This exercise also helps to stretch and strengthen all the muscles in the neck.
3
Technique: Stand on your right knee and slowly push it forward. Grab your left leg with your hand behind you, squeezing your gluteal muscles.
Benefit: This exercise is great for stretching your knees and strengthening your hamstrings.
4
Technique: Extend your right arm along your body. Using pressure with your left hand, slowly pull out with your right.
Effect: This movement helps stretch the shoulders and strengthen the neck muscles.
5
Technique: bend your right knee and place your foot on the floor with outside the opposite thigh as close to the pelvis as possible. Place your right hand behind your back and grab your right knee with your left hand. Repeat all movements on the other side.
Effect: This pose helps to open up chest and lengthens the muscles of the neck, shoulders, back and hips.
6
Technique: Get into plank pose, then move your left foot towards your hands. You should feel tension in your thighs. Return to plank pose and repeat on your right leg.
Effect: This exercise is ideal for stretching and lengthening the muscles of the thighs and ankles.
7
Technique: Lie on your back, then bend your knees and move them to the right, slowly turning your body in the opposite direction.
Effect: This movement increases mobility in your back, lengthens your spine, and stretches your hips, chest, shoulders, and upper back.
8
Technique: Sit on your heels, extend your arms behind your back and push your hips up and forward. Be careful not to overload bottom part backs.
Benefit: This pose will help strengthen the internal and external oblique muscles.
9
Execution technique: lie on your back, then bend your knees, smoothly lift your back off the floor and lift it up. Shoulders and feet should remain firmly pressed to the floor.
Effect: These movements stretch the chest and neck muscles, and also lengthen the spine. It also helps calm your nerves and relieve stress.
10
Technique: Lie on your side, supporting your head with your hand. Bend your knee and move it back toward your buttocks.
Effect: These movements help eliminate knee pain.
11
Technique: In a sitting position, smoothly pull your leg towards your chest, while simultaneously rotating your hip and keeping your back straight.
Effect: this allows you to develop your gluteal muscles well.
12
Technique: sit on the floor, stretch your legs in front of you. Bend your torso forward towards your legs and grab your feet with your hands. In this case, you need to keep your back straight and try to reach your stomach to your hips.
Effect: This pose calms the nerves, relieves stress, lengthens the spine, and also works the muscles of the shoulders and hips.
13
Technique: Grab your left ankle right hand and try to pull it as close to your buttocks as possible. Keep your back straight.
Effect: This helps to stretch the muscles in the back of the thigh.
14
Technique: Place your hands behind your back and move them back as far as possible. After this, lift your buttocks off your heels and tilt your torso forward, touching your head to the floor.
Effect: This pose allows you to stretch the muscles of the neck and shoulders, and also helps eliminate headaches and drowsiness.
15
Technique: Place one foot on the floor and the toes of the other on the wall. You should feel tension in your foot as you press your toes against the wall.
Effect: This is a great way to stretch your calf muscles.
Why is it necessary to do stretching exercises? Stretching exercises are very useful and necessary for maintaining health. People are used to spending a lot of time at their desk, home computer or TV, but did you know that such prolonged sitting is harmful to your health?
Since this contributes to shortening of the muscles of the front side of the thigh, unpleasant sensations in the shoulders and back, deterioration of posture, and the threat of irreversible deformations of the skeleton.
Therefore, to avoid such problems, you need to regularly perform stretching exercises. In addition, stretching exercises help not only improve your well-being, but also improve your sleep at night.
The tips in this article will help you keep your body flexible throughout the day.
Technique for performing stretching exercises
1. It is very important to feel your body
We make movements slowly, stretching exercises, trying to fully feel how the tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles are stretched. If pain occurs, you are either overexerting yourself or you have made a mistake in your technique. If you don’t feel anything, it means you’re not doing the exercise correctly, or you’re stretching weakly.
2. Remember to relax
It seems simple, but many people, when doing stretching exercises, become unnecessarily tense.
3. Remember to breathe deeply
This type of breathing helps to relax the muscles, which improves their stretching. Also, deep and slow breathing increases the benefits of exercise by stimulating blood flow. We perform movements only at the exit. Having fixed the pose, exhale, inflate both the chest and abdomen. When we exhale, we imagine how excess tension is released from our muscles with the air.
4. Stretching exercises
Stretch weak side body, twice as long as a flexible one. If there is a feeling that one side of the neck or body is stretching worse than the other, we spend 2 times more time on it (or do more turns) until it is as flexible as the other.
5. Watch your body position
The most typical mistake– bending the back. In almost all exercises (about 95% of exercises), the spine should be kept straight. Before bending over, inhale and stretch upward harder. Bend from the hips without hunching or bending your lower back.
A set of stretching exercises throughout the day
1. Do exercises in the morning shower
Stretching exercises It is recommended to start doing stretching exercises in the morning immediately before or after a warm shower. Why in the morning and under a warm shower? Because at this time the muscles are warmed up, and you will also be energized for the whole day. The following simple exercises are recommended:
Standing under a warm shower, we raise our arms above our heads, clasp our palms together and stretch upward harder, while liberating our back and shoulders.
We direct a warm stream of water to the back of the neck, slowly turn our head to the right - all the way, and then repeat the exercise to the left. Repeat - 5 times.
After taking a shower. We dry off, placing either our right or left leg on some elevation and bending forward as deeply as possible. This way we stretch the hamstrings.
2. This three-minute set of exercises is very intense and is performed after waking up in the morning.
We perform these exercises while standing, doing 12 repetitions and pauses of 2 seconds, with maximum stretching.
Rotate your neck. We press our chin to our chest and do stretching exercises in a semicircle, bringing either the right or the left ear closer to the shoulder.
We shrug. We raise our shoulders to our ears and slowly lower them.
We rotate our shoulders. We slowly describe circles with our shoulders.
Rotate with your hands. We stretch our arms out to the sides so that they are parallel to the floor. Then, without bending our arms, we describe circles.
Rotate your hips. We place our feet a little wider than our hips, bend our knees a little and rotate our pelvis, as if we were twisting a halahoop.
3. We do stretching exercises after aerobics, cycling, running, walking and other cardio workouts.
Why after cardio training? The fact is that during cardio training our muscles are more pliable and elastic, which allows us to stretch it to the maximum. After any physical activity, which helps to increase the heart rate and breathing, rest for 6-11 minutes so that the heart rhythm becomes normal.
4. Stretch our legs while in line (we do this exercise when we stand for a long time and move little)
Are you standing in line (store, bank, etc.)? In order not to waste time, we perform the following exercises for stretching: we rise on tiptoes as high as possible and linger slightly in this state. Then we lower ourselves onto our entire foot. Raise the toe of your left (and therefore right) foot as high as possible and hold in this position for 25 seconds.
5. At the end of the working day, we devote 3 minutes to the next complex.
After studying some research, we can say that the peak of human flexibility occurs at evening time 14.30-16.00. This is due to natural human biorhythms. Stretching exercises can be done at any time, but based on this study, they are most beneficial and effective during this time period.
Stretch the hamstrings while sitting. We sit on the floor, stretching exercises, stretching the right leg forward and pressing the left sole to its thigh. We lean forward without bending our back. After 25 seconds we return to the starting position. We repeat the tilt, only we extend the left leg forward.
Stretch the sides. We sit on the edge of the chair, pressing both soles to the floor. We rest our right palm on the seat. Raise your left arm above your head. We stretch well, and then bend to the right. After 25 seconds we return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
Stretch your hips. We sit on the edge of a chair and press both sole stretching exercises to the floor. Place your left foot on your right thigh. We lean forward with a straight back. After 25 seconds we return to the starting position. Then we repeat the exercise, while changing the position of the legs.
Stretch the chest. We stand straight, feet hip-width apart. We connect our palms behind our backs into a lock. Putting your chest forward, lower your shoulders up, back, down. To enhance the stretching of the chest, we do not hold our hands down at the back, but raise them slightly up. After 25 seconds we return to the starting position.
6. Every evening before going to bed we raise our feet.
We sit as close as possible facing the wall. Then we lie on our back and raise our legs so that the buttocks, backs of the thighs and heels rest against the wall. There will be a feeling of stretching of the leg muscles. We maintain this pose for 6 minutes.
7. Stretch your fingers.
By performing these exercises daily, we will improve flexibility and increase strength in the hands. The result will be more noticeable if we work with them one by one:
All fingers. Place your palm on your thigh or table. How can stronger exercises To stretch, move your fingers apart from each other and leave them in this position for 30 seconds.
Thumb. We place the hand on the table with the palm up, slightly spreading the relaxed fingers. We connect the ends of the index and thumb. After 3 seconds we return to the starting position. We repeat this exercise in turn with the remaining fingers.
Spider move. I place my palm on the table. Moving our fingers, we “crawl” our hand along the table.
Ecology of consumption. Fitness and sports: How many times have many of us told ourselves about lack of flexibility, about the inability to attend hour-long stretching classes, about the inability to do yoga...
How many times have many of us told ourselves about our lack of flexibility, our inability to attend hour-long stretching classes, our inability to do yoga. It's OK. Doing yoga is, of course, not like drinking a cup of tea.
But it's possible to achieve great stretching success without having to chant "ommmmm" or sit and sweat in a yoga class (though it really wouldn't hurt to try a few times to see if many of the misconceptions are debunked).
Conditions modern life lead to emotional and physical stress. Sitting at a desk all day brings no favors and does no good to the lower back or hips.
1. Runner's Lunge
If you have to sit all day or, conversely, run errands, this can have a detrimental effect on the hips (this is the part of the leg located between the pelvis and the knee). This is especially true for men, because stretch marks are definitely not in their favor.
Exercises with lunges will help correct the position.
Stand up straight and lean forward so that you can rest your fingers or palms on the floor. Take a wide step back with one leg as far as possible, while simultaneously bending the other leg at the knee. It is necessary to achieve such a situation that bent knee made an angle of 90 degrees, and the knee itself should be above the toes - no further.
Breathe evenly, distribute your weight between both legs and try to “sink” your hips a little lower. Stay in this position for 30 seconds.
Repeat 2-3 times for each leg.
2. Lateral bend
Stretches for each side of the body from head to toe. There is no stretch more effective and easier than this. It relaxes the entire body, providing a much-needed break from the monotony of the workday. You just need to get up and try.
Standing with your feet together, extend your arms up above your head, palms together. Inhale and bend your body to the right, pressing your thighs tightly against each other. Lengthen your body on one side without bending forward or backward. Wait a minute, return to the starting position, then stretch another part of the body.
Continue side stretchers 5–10 times for each side.
3. Seated hamstring stretch
These biceps muscles located along the posterior lateral edge of the thighs. Together with other muscles, they participate in extension of the torso and rotation of the lower leg. The thigh muscles are quite stubborn. No matter how designed and stretched they are, they will always resist stretch marks. And the more you pull them, the harder they will try to get back. Therefore, all movements are performed carefully and slowly. The easiest way to do this is sitting on the floor with your legs extended.
Press your left foot toward your right thigh. Exhale and stretch your arms up as straight as possible. Exhaling, bend towards the extended right leg, helping with your hands to bend as close as possible. Depending on the level of stretch, you can grab your shin, ankle, foot, or thumb legs. Slowly straighten up, taking a short pause, and bend over again, trying to get a little closer to the thigh.
Repeat 5 times, then switch to the second leg.
4. Goddess Squats
This pose is unique to the hips, including the inner thighs. The exercise is performed in a standing position, and you can do it anywhere without worrying about the cleanliness of the floor.
Spread your legs as wide as possible with your toes outward and heels inward. Slowly lower your hips closer to the floor. Then raise your arms to the sides, forming a “T” with your shoulders. Straighten your legs while raising your arms above your head. Exhale and “sink” your hips back, while simultaneously lowering your arms to shoulder height.
Repeat at least 10 times.
5. Upper Back Stretch
This exercise is especially useful for people whose neck, shoulders and top part backs. The exercise relaxes the upper body by stretching the shoulders, neck, upper arms and back.
Get on your knees and bend over, resting your hands on the floor. Continuing to lean with your left hand, the right hand is directed with a sliding movement along the floor between the left knee and left hand, while simultaneously turning the torso in the same direction. Turn around until your right shoulder and head are comfortably on the floor. Inhale and lift your right arm up, extending it straight away from your shoulder. Take a couple of breaths in this position and come out of this pose as slowly as you entered it. Then switch to the other side.
6. Spinal stretch
If the spine is flexible and mobile, then blood flows through the body easily. The exercise allows you to open the chest, strengthen the lungs and stretch the front surface of the body, and solve some problems with poor balance.
Sitting on your knees, place the ball behind you and, holding it, lean back until your upper back rests on it. Extend your arms behind your head towards the floor. Synchronize the exercise with breathing: inhaling to roll onto the ball, exhaling to roll back.
The number of repetitions depends on how you feel.
7. Standing Hip Stretch
And again the hips. It is so important that their muscles are elastic. This exercise is another way to achieve the desired result.
Stand up straight. Slowly raise your right knee. Grab your foot with your left hand and bring it in front of your left knee. With your right hand, grab the leg you are lifting from below by the ankle and lift it as high as possible. At the top point, inhale and try to straighten your upper body. Take a few breaths, then slowly lower your leg and move on to stretching the other leg.
8. Quadriceps Stretch
While doing this exercise, keep the muscles surrounding your knee relaxed to avoid pain.
Lie on your stomach, placing your hands under your forehead and creating a pillow for yourself. Bend your right leg so that your foot approaches your right buttock. Pull your right hand back and grab your leg, trying to pull your foot to your buttock as close as possible. If you cannot reach it with your hand, help yourself with a towel or belt.
Hold this position for 15 seconds, then repeat with the other leg and arm.
9. Cobra Pose
Strengthens the shoulders abdominal Press, lungs, spine and buttocks. During exercise, body temperature rises and warmed muscles stretch more easily.
Lie face down with your thighs, shins, feet and toes firmly pressed to the floor. Bend your arms at the elbows and place them along your body so that your palms are under your shoulders. As you inhale, begin to slowly lift your chest, pressing your palms firmly to the floor and straightening your elbows. Make sure your upper back and shoulder blades are raised as high as possible.
Freeze in this position for 10–30 seconds, slightly tensing your buttocks. Exhale and slowly lower yourself to the floor.
Repeat 3 times.
10. Happy child
This is an ideal pose for relieving stress and fatigue, calming the mind, and is great for stretching the upper thigh and inner groin areas.
Lie on your back and bend your knees, pulling them to your chest and spreading your knees approximately shoulder-width apart. Hold your heels with your hands so that your elbows pass between your legs near the inner surface of your knees. Exhale and pull your legs by your heels with your hands so that your knees are as close to the floor as possible.
If you feel comfortable, sway slightly from side to side, massaging lumbar region spine. Stay in this position for about a minute, making sure your breathing is even.
11. Up the Wall
This exercise is the best for completing a complex of stretches. It helps you relax because you spent the whole day in an upright position with your head much higher than your feet. The exercise changes positioning, helping blood flow away from them.
Lie with your back on the floor, pressing the back of your thighs as close to the wall as possible and placing your legs raised up on it. If there is no free wall, you can use any vertical element.
Try to keep the angle between your legs and torso as close to 90 degrees as possible. Place your hands back behind your head. Take a deep breath and exhale the same way, relax, stay in this position for about a minute.
Any of the above simple exercises effective for stretching. Some are easier to perform, some are more complex, but by doing any of them you can be convinced that yoga is not that difficult. But the joints remain mobile and the muscles elastic. published
It doesn’t matter why you needed to do the splits - for showiness for a special occasion, perfect stretch or health benefits (yes, her splits also bring, and considerable ones). Whatever you have in mind, know that doing the splits is actually not that difficult. If you regularly perform several effective exercises, even more so.
1. Bends with hands “clasped” behind your back
Stretching, which is usually painful and therefore not very pleasant, is best started with a simple and slightly relaxing exercise, such as this one. It will stretch the muscles well back surface hips and, as a bonus, will improve the flexibility of the back, straighten the shoulders and chest.
How to do it. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bring your hands together behind your back, lock them together and lift them up - your back should arch. In this position, bend over and pull your chest towards your hips. Keep your legs straight, they should not bend at the knees. After standing like this for 5 breaths, slowly return to the starting position.
2. Bends to one leg
Do it very carefully. The “pull” will be under the knee and lower back, but then the splits will become a couple of centimeters closer.
How to do it. Sit on the floor and stretch your legs. Bend your right knee and place it on your side, thereby opening your hips halfway. Strive to touch the outside of your left foot with your right hand, and try to place your torso on a straight leg. Left hand also pull forward towards the foot. Relax your shoulders - they should not rise. Stay in this position until you take 5 breaths. Raise your body, change legs, repeat the exercise.
3. Bend forward with legs open
It will not be possible to lie down with your body on the floor in this position right away. But when it does work out, it will mean that there is nothing left before the twine (and not longitudinal, but transverse).
How to do it. Sit down and spread your legs to the sides, but not to the maximum width. Move your pelvis forward a little, but be careful not to let your legs move with it. Straighten your back. Move your body forward towards the floor until you feel a “burning” under your knees - this is the tendons stretching. Stay in the lowest position for 5 breaths, then return to the starting position.
4. Deep lunges forward
What could be simpler and more convenient than stretching the leg muscles in such a lunge? In addition, this exercise is even too good for stretching.
How to do it. Lunge forward with your right foot. Place your hands on the floor. The leg should be between them. Place your left knee on the floor. If you can, lower yourself onto your elbows. Press your body against your right leg. Stretch your hips toward the floor. Stay as low as possible while you take 5 breaths. Switch legs and repeat the exercise.
5. Deep lunge with calf raise
Having worked on stretching the knees, let's move on to the hips, or more precisely, to the muscles of their back and front surfaces.
How to do it. Go to the wall, stop a step away from it, turn your back to it. Get on your knees. Place your right leg bent at a right angle forward. Lift the foot of your left leg up and “put it” on the wall. Pull your hips down until you feel a stretch in the muscles. Place your hands on your knee to keep your position stable. Keep your back straight. Stay in this position while you take 5 breaths, then relax, switch legs and repeat.
6. Standing Power Stretch
Stretch your muscles with the force of your arms - this can be more effective than putting pressure on them with your own weight.
How to do it. Stand straight, close your feet. Shift your weight to your left leg, and lift your right leg, bent at the knee so that it is easy to grab it with both hands. Stand straight on your left leg. Slowly straighten your right leg to the side, holding your big toe with your hand. If this comes easily to you, pull your hip toward your stomach, lifting your foot toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 5 breaths. Slowly lower your right leg to the floor. Switch legs and repeat the exercise.
7. Side plank stretch
To stretch in such a precarious (in the literal sense of the word) position, you need to be able to maintain balance. Despite the complexity, this exercise is worth trying - it significantly lengthens some muscles, while giving others a static load.
How to do it. Stand in side bar on outstretched arm and with support on the right leg. Carefully, while maintaining balance, grab the big toe of your left foot with your left hand and, bending your leg at the knee, pull it up, gradually straightening it. Stand while trying not to lose your balance. If you can, straighten your leg and pull it as high as possible. After 5 breaths, gently release your left leg, place it on the floor, accept sitting position. Switch sides and repeat the exercise.
