Stretching is one of the most important and also one of the most neglected things we can do to improve our mobility, ability to perform daily tasks, relieve muscle tension, not to mention a huge part of injury prevention. Stretching doesn’t have to take a long time or be difficult. In fact stretching should be relaxing, enjoyable and help to alleviate the aches and pains that come from overly tight muscles. Stretching doesn’t require any fancy equipment, it can be done safely and easily in the comfort of your own home.
If we wanted to warm up our muscles to prepare for exercise, we would complete a series of dynamic stretches – these involve lots of movement to increase heart rate, blood flow and stimulate the muscles to prepare for exercise.
When we want to work on increasing our flexibility we perform a series of static stretches. These involve gentle stretching and holding for a certain amount of time. That is the type of stretching we will look at today. To begin with, you can hold the stretches for 15-20 seconds, and over time you can increase that up to 60 seconds. Obviously you want to be balanced, so make sure you repeat stretches on BOTH sides of the body, and spend more time on areas that you know are particularly tight for you.
The following are some examples of easy stretches you can do while standing at home with a wall or your kitchen bench for balance, support and resistance. Check out these pictures for quick instructions or our video if you require more details!
| Quadriceps (knee bend) |  |
| Calf (heel down, toes up) |  |
| Chest (hand on wall, twist to open) |  |
| Lower back (Forward fold) |  |
| Upper back (round back, push hands forward) |  |
| Obliques (Side reach) |  |
| Core (Torso twist) |  |