You may have just started to become more physically active, or, you may be the fittest person around – either way you you need to be doing your stretches.
Why do we need to stretch?
If you are constantly using any muscle in your body, it will be going through phases of being shorter (when the muscle is contracting) and longer (when the muscle is relaxing). However, if you are using any particular muscle a lot you will find that over time it is getting gradually tighter, this may cause you pain in that particular muscle, pain in the joints or pain in completely different areas of the body. This is due to a process called adaptive shortening, when you are using a muscle so much without stretching it, your body thinks it simply doesn’t need to be that long and allows it to get shorter over time. This then pulls other areas of your body out of alignment which can cause you pain. This can also happen if a muscle is resting in a shortened position for lengths of time.
An example of this in the lower body- someone who works at a desk all day may find they are getting aches in their lower back- one possible cause of this could be the adaptive shortening in the hip flexors (a muscle that starts in the lower back and runs across the front of the hip to attach at the front of the femur). This pulls your hip alignment out of whack causing pain in the lower back. However, stretching the hip flexors could help to ease this pain.
The exercises
World’s greatest stretch
Start by stepping one foot as far forward as possible to get into a long lunge with the back leg as straight as you can keep it. Take the opposite arm to the forward leg and place the hand on the floor on the inside of your foot. With the other hand, open up the chest and reach up toward the ceiling. Then replace the hand, step the foot back, bring the other foot forward and repeat on the other side.
Hip rotation (90/90s)
Sit on the floor with the legs apart, knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Hip inward rotation- take your right knee and lower it inwards towards the floor as far as you can while still maintaining your torso position. Then lift it back to where you started and perform on the left.
Hip inward and outward rotation- take your right knee and lower it inwards towards the floor while at the same time lowering your left knee outwards towards the floor. You should then be sat upright with your legs both at 90 degrees as close to the floor as possible.
This mobility exercise gets better the more you do it so trust the process.
Hamstring stretch
Sit on the floor with your legs either crossed or externally rotated at the hips with the soles of your feet touching. Take on leg and straighten it out in front of you. From you you need to think about tilting your pelvis forward (almost as if you are trying to stick your bum out) and reach your hands forward, resting them on your leg as far forward as is comfortable. Take a few deep breaths here, after 3 deep breathes you can attempt to reach your hands further forwards (small amounts at a time and only as far as you can). Repeat this process for about 30 seconds. Then repeat with the other leg. Alternatively you can stretch both legs at the same time if you choose.
Glute stretch
Start sitting on the floor with both legs straight in front of you. Bend your right leg, rotating your knee to the side and pacing your right foot on your left thigh. From here you are going to place your hands behind you for balance and bend your left knee (this will bring your already bent right leg towards your chest) so you feel a stretch in your right gluteals (butt cheek). Only bend your left knee as far as is comfortable. Hold this position for around 30 seconds, then straighten your left leg and return your right leg to the floor and repeat on the other side.
Inner thigh stretch
Start kneeling, and place your hands on the floor in front of you so you can rock forward and back, then take your right leg out to the side. From here you are going to gently rock your weight forward onto your hands, and backwards so you feel a dynamic stretch in your inner right thigh. Perform this for about 15 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Perform these exercises after any cardio or lower body strengthening workouts, or if you are generally just feeling tight. Just be sure your muscles are warm before stretching!
Enjoy!
