Stretching exercises

Stretching is a kind of physical exercise in which a particular muscle or tendon (or muscle group) is intentionally flexed or stretched in order to improve the muscle’s felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone.

Stretching comes with plenty of health benefits like increased flexibility, better posture, less stress, and fewer body aches.

Here are the best stretching exercises to try.

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Stretching exercises

Best for mobility: Downward-Facing Dog

How to carry it out

Lie on your stomach with your hands flat by your shoulders.
Press your hands and toes against the floor as you gently lift your heels.
Raise knees and hips, bringing your butt toward the ceiling.
Extending your arms, lengthen your spine and tuck chin to chest.
Breathe gently as you hold the pose.

Standing Hamstring Stretch

How to carry it out

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, and arms by your sides.
Exhale as you bend forward at the hips, lowering your head toward the floor while keeping your head, neck, and shoulders relaxed.
Wrap your arms around the backs of your legs and hold anywhere from 45 seconds to 2 minutes.
Bend your knees and roll up when you are done.

90/90 Stretch

How to carry it out

This modification of the pigeon pose helps with the internal rotation of one leg and external rotation of the other, so you are hitting both movements of the hip at once. It’s a good option for people who have extremely tight hip flexors.

How to carry it out

Sit with your right knee bent at 90 degrees in front of you, your calf perpendicular to your body, and the sole of your foot facing to the left. Keep your right foot flexed.
Let your leg rest flat on the floor.
Place your left knee to the left of your body, and bend the knee so that your foot faces behind you. Keep your left foot flexed.
Keep your right butt cheek on the floor. Try to move the left cheek as close to the floor as possible. It may not be possible if you’re super tight.
Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Repeat on the other side.

Seated Shoulder Squeeze

How to carry it out

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Clasp your hands behind your lower back.
Straighten and extend your arms and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Do this for 3 seconds and then release. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Side Bend Stretch

How to carry it out

Kneel on the floor with your legs together, back straight, and core tight.
Extend your left leg out to the side. Keep it perpendicular to your body (not in front or behind you).
Extend your right arm overhead, rest your left arm on your left leg, and gently bend your torso and right arm to the left side.
Keep your hips facing forward.
Hold this stretch for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Repeat on the other side.

Lying Quad Stretch

A quad stretch is one of the most popular lower-body stretches, mostly if you have just done a cardio workout like running or cycling.

How to carry it out

Lie on one side.
Keep your bottom leg straight and bend your top knee so your foot is by your butt.
Hold your top foot with your hand, pulling it toward your butt.
Keep your hips stable so you’re not rocking back as you pull.
Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Switch sides and repeat.

Stretching exercises for beginners

Wall pectoral stretch

This stretch targets the pecs. It’s beneficial for anyone who has rounded shoulders from sitting at a desk all day or doing too many bench presses but not enough upper back exercises.

How to carry it out

Stand with your toes against a wall and lift one of your arms up so it’s slightly above horizontal. Place your palm on the wall.
Turn your torso towards the opposite side of the hand that’s on the wall.
Keep your shoulder down and back to feel the stretch in your chest.
When you switch sides, hold the pose on the opposite side for an equal amount of time.

Prone calf stretch

How to carry it out

Get onto the floor in a plank position with your palms flat on the floor and your legs straight out behind you. You should be up on your toes.
Take one foot and cross it over the back of the other foot.
Shift your weight backward by thinking about pushing your glutes up and back. Use the top leg to push the heel of the opposite foot as far into the ground as you can.
Slowly rock back and forth for at least 8-10 repetitions, trying to get a little deeper into the stretch each time.
Switch sides and repeat on the opposite leg.

Standing calf stretch

How to carry it out

Place your hands on a wall or fixed surface and step back with one foot.
Turn the toes of your back foot inward slightly and press your heel into the ground to feel a stretch in the calf of the back leg.
Bend the front leg more for a deeper stretch, or move the back leg back until you feel a good stretch.

Standing or seated inner thigh stretch

How to carry it out Standing stretch

Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart and toes facing straight ahead.
Lunge to one side by bending the knee and sitting the hips back, keeping the other leg straight.
You should feel a stretch in the inner thigh of the straight leg.

How to carry it out seated stretch

Sit on a ball or in a chair with one leg bent and the other straight out to the side (just like the standing inner thigh stretch).
Shift your weight toward the bent leg until you feel a stretch in the inner thigh of the straight leg.

Seated side-straddle stretch

The seated side-straddle stretch unlocks flexibility in your abs and back. Part of the seated side-straddle magic comes from extending your arms overhead. This engages and opens your chest, ribs, and shoulders.

How to carry it out

Sit on the floor with your legs splayed in front of you as wide as possible without being uncomfortable.
Bend your elbows and raise your arms to your sides, keeping your head and neck in line with your spine.
Engage your abs and on an exhale bend slowly to your right. Bring that elbow as close to the floor as you can without rotating your spine.
Bend until you feel tension.
Hold for 15–30 secs then relax back into the starting position.
Repeat the above 3–4 times.
Switch sides.

Swiss ball ab stretch

How to carry it out

Balance a Swiss ball in the middle of your back.
Plant your feet flat on the floor.
Extend your back until your whole spine is in contact with the ball, arching around it.
Bring your arms up over your head and place them on the ground.
Stretch out as much as you can without discomfort and hold for 30–60 seconds.
Repeat as required.

Stretching exercises for runners

Stretch the calves

How to carry it out

Start in a wide stride position with the weight on your front leg.
From here push your hips and front knee forward, bringing your back heel towards the floor.
Hold this stretch for up to 60 seconds and then switch sides.

Stretch the front of the thigh

How to carry it out

Start in a hip-width stance with the upper body upright.
Bring the heel of one leg back towards the buttocks and grasp the ankle with the arm on the same side.
Pull the ankle as far towards the buttocks as possible, keeping the head, hips, and knees in line.
Hold this stretch for up to 60 seconds and then switch sides.

Stretch the back of the thigh

How to carry it out

You can do this stretch either standing up or sitting on the floor.
Sitting on the floor, stretch one leg straight out in front of you, bend the other leg sideways as shown in the picture, and place the sole of your foot on the inside of your outstretched leg.
Now slowly bring your upright upper body as far forward over the knee of your extended leg as you can – it may pull in the back of the thigh, but it must not hurt.
Hold this stretch for up to 60 seconds and then switch sides.

Side lunge

How to carry it out

Stand with a wide stance (greater than your hip/shoulder width) but not so wide that you feel a stretch.
With both feet pointing forward, bend your left knee, allowing your hips to sit backward, and shift your weight to over your right foot as you step to the right.
As you move, keep your upper body upright and your core engaged.
Then return to standing. Repeat this for 10 reps, then switch sides.
This targets the hip abductors/adductors and engages the core stabilizing muscles.

Bent-knee forward swing

How to carry it out

Stand alongside a wall or fence for support.
Stand stably on your right leg.
Then bend your left knee upwards in front of you to a 90-degree angle.
Keeping your hips pointing forward, drive the knee up toward your chest, then extend it straight out behind you.
Repeat 10 times then switch legs.

Stretching exercises for seniors

Neck stretches for seniors

How to carry it out

Stand/sit with your back straight and feet flat on the floor.
Tilt your head to the left bringing your left ear closer to your left shoulder as far as is comfortable.
Reach over your head with your left hand and gently pull your head towards your left shoulder.
Hold for up to 30 seconds then slowly release.
Switch sides then repeat.

Shoulder stretches for seniors

How to carry it out

Sit/stand with your back straight, chest up.
Bring your right arm across your body just above your chest, and hold it with your left arm close to your right elbow.
Hold for up to 30 seconds then slowly release. You will feel a nice shoulder and triceps stretch.
Switch sides then repeat.

Chest Stretch

How to carry it out

Sit comfortably on a chair or the bed.
Grab a resistance or therapy band, extend your arms, keep them shoulder-width apart, and look ahead. This is the starting position.
Open your arms wide to stretch your chest muscles.
Hold the position for 5 seconds and return to the starting position.
Keep breathing normally throughout the steps.
Do this 10-15 times.

Hip Abduction

How to carry it out

Stand behind a chair with your feet together.
Hold the backrest for support.
Roll your shoulders back and look straight. This is the starting position.
Lift your right leg off the floor sideways and as high as possible to stretch the thigh muscles.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat with the left leg.
Do this 10 times on each leg.

Toe Stretch

How to carry it out

Stand behind a chair and hold the backrest, keep the legs shoulder-width apart, feet flat on the floor, and roll the shoulders back.
Lift your toes off the floor. This is the starting position.
Hold this position for 5-10 seconds.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat 10-15 times.
Consult a doctor before you do any of these stretching exercises.
Also, do a 10-minute warm-up before starting. Doing these stretches regularly will help you get the following benefits.

Conclusion

Having the knowledge of the different stretches will help you start out your workout well.

Aside from starting out your workout, be intentional about the results you are expecting from your different workouts and also work consistently to achieve them.

Remember to get advice from your doctor before starting out with the stretches if you have any health conditions.