Clearly, there are countless benefits to maintaining and improving the body’s flexibility. Flexibility is the ability to stretch or extend and the term is used to describe the range of motion in a muscle or joint. Increasing your flexibility is vitally important for preventing injury and performance. Greater flexibility improves blood flow which allows muscles to work most effectively. A loss of flexibility can lead to permanent changes in normal muscle function.
Stretching works to decrease resistance in muscle tissue. Less resistance in those muscles can mean that less energy is required to move through a greater range of motion. Here are simple stretches that can be incorporated into a daily routine to increase flexibility. Mix it up and incorporate other stretches to make it fun, just don’t forget to stretch every day!
● Seated Trunk Twist: Sit on the floor, abdominals engaged, and legs extended together in front of you. While lifting your rib cage, twist to the right. Keep abs engaged and rotate as far as possible. Do the same to the left to complete one repetition. Repeat 10 times and try holding the last rep for 30 seconds. This stretch benefits the back, abs, and obliques.
● Triceps Stretch: With feet hip-width apart, raise arms overhead. Bend your left elbow so your hand is in the middle of your back. Reach over with your right hand and grasp your left elbow. Gently pull toward the right until you feel a stretch in your triceps. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch arms and repeat. This stretch benefits the shoulders, back, abs, and triceps.
● Hip Flexor/Quad Stretch: Kneel down on the floor. Bring your right knee forward with your foot flat on the floor directly underneath. The left knee stays on the floor. With both hands on the right knee, press hips forward and lean into stretch, keeping your body upright. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat three times and then switch legs. This stretch benefits hip flexors, quads, and hamstrings.
● Jaw Forward-Backward Stretch:
Protrude your lower jaw forward, holding for 5 seconds. Then, retract it back, holding for another 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times
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