Do you want to develop your flexibility but don’t know where to start? Please don’t panic, We’re here to help you.
It is always beneficial to warm up with joint mobility first, before working on your muscles. Here, we will propose muscle flexibility exercises divided into two distinct parts:
- Stretching for upper body flexibility (arms, shoulders, back…)
- Lower body exercises for flexibility (pelvis and legs).
Some of these exercises will work several parts of your body simultaneously.
Upper body flexibility (arms, shoulders, back)
Let’s start with the stretches for your arms and shoulders. First of all, we suggest two yoga postures:
- The child’s pose,
Place yourself on your knees, and bring your rib cage down on your thighs by stretching your arms forward, your head will come to rest on the ground, between your knees and shoulders.
- The head down dog position,
For this posture, you have two possibilities:
- Stand with your legs slightly apart, lean forward, and place your hands on the ground, move them forward as you go along, until your arms and shoulders are straight. Your head will be pulled inwards.
- Lie down, belly to the floor. Bring your hands up to your shoulders and straighten your arms, so your shoulders and rib cage are raised. As you bring your buttocks up, you will place your feet facing the floor and bring your pelvis up as high as possible.
If you did not position yourself on the floor on the last exercise, we suggest you realize this posture to stretch your shoulders and abdomen. Position yourself facing the ground, place your hands at shoulder height and stand up. Pull your head back and straighten your arms, your pelvis may lift slightly off the ground.
Another great stretch for your upper body, especially for your back and back pain, will be a back twist. Sit with one leg straight and the other bent, thigh against your chest. Stick your inverted shoulder to your raised knee (if your left leg is raised, stick your right shoulder). Stretch your opposite shoulder backward, while looking in that direction. Do the exercise on both sides.
To complete your upper body stretches, we suggest the following three exercises:
- Standing up straight, raise your arms above your head, and join your hands. Hold them up and then back. Extend your shoulders, arms, and back.
- Lie down with your arms at your sides and your hands slightly under your buttocks. You can stretch your legs out in front of you or bend them into the lotus position if you are flexible. Push your rib cage upwards, keeping your support on the ground at the level of your hands, pelvis, and head. Help yourself by pushing on your hands. This position is called the fish pose.
- Our last exercise is called the bow pose. Lie on your stomach, stretch your arms back, and bend your legs at the knees. Grab your ankles and straighten your back and neck upwards.
Work on the flexibility of your lower body muscles (pelvis, legs…)
The last part of this article will be devoted to stretching and flexibility exercises for the lower body.
To begin, perform a deep squat exercise. To do this, stand up straight with your legs slightly apart. Bend your legs while keeping your back straight. Unlike a traditional squat, which will keep you square, come for depth by pushing your buttocks toward the ground. Make sure to keep your back as straight as possible and stick your buttocks to your calves/ankles.
Our second exercise will ask you to lie with your back to the floor, and legs squared against a wall. Spread your legs and use their weight to stretch your adductors.
We suggest three other exercises for stretching your legs:
- Sit on the floor with your back straight. Bend your legs and bring your feet up to your crotch. Hold your foot arches together and hold your feet together with your hands. Then try to lower your knees simultaneously as low as possible.
- Roll onto your back and lie on the floor with your legs straight. Bend one of your legs and bring the ankle of this one on the knee of your other leg. For example, the right leg is straight, the left leg is bent, and the ankle is on the right knee. Fold your outstretched leg, and raise it to form a right angle with your pelvis. With your arms, take support at the back of the thigh and the knee level and bring your leg back towards you. Do this exercise for each leg.
- Stand up straight. Bend one of your legs and bring your heel up to your buttock. Using your arms and hands, placed on your ankle, bring the leg towards you and up.
Our last two exercises are similar to lunges and reverse lunges:
- Starting in a standing or sheathing position facing the floor, place one of your legs forward, bent at the square. Your other leg will come to the back, straight, or knee down. Widen the gap between your legs and bend forward slightly. Do this exercise for both legs.
- Next, place one knee on the ground, with your thigh aligned with your back. Hold one leg forward, foot up toward the sky, and heel down. Lean forward as much as you can. Do this exercise for each leg.