Hamstring and back stretch

You should feel this stretch throughout your entire backside — heel, calf, hamstring, lower back, and lats. Try not to tighten your shoulders and round your back during this stretch. Stay in your comfort zone during this stretch. Remember that you’re introducing range of motion, not trying to increase your overall flexibility.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand with your feet in a wide stance about hip-width apart.
2. Extend your left leg so your heel on your right leg remains on the floor and your toes on the left leg are lifted toward the ceiling.
3. Bend your right knee as you slowly press your hips back (see Figure a).
4. Reach your right hand toward your left toes or the outside of your left leg (see Figure b).
5. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do tilt your pelvis back.
• Do try to keep your back flat.
• Do keep your foot flexed and your toes pointed up.
• Don’t bounce or force the stretch.
• Don’t tighten up your shoulders or round your back.

Standing calf and hip flexor stretch

Stretching the calf and the hip flexor together is valuable because they affect each other. If your calf is tight, it may limit the movement in your hip flexor. If your hip flexor is tight, then it may limit your range of motion in your calf.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand tall with your left foot back far enough to still keep your heel on the ground (see Figure a).
2. Bend your right knee and reach your left arm overhead as you press your hip forward (see Figure b).
3. Squeeze your buttocks to feel the stretch a little deeper in your hip flexor and calf. As you stretch your arm overhead and press your hip forward, you should feel as if your spine is lengthening, not shortening or compressing.
4. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and then repeat on your other leg.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do reach up and back, not just back.
• Do work on getting your heel to stay on the ground.
• Don’t arch your back.
• Don’t relax your abdominal muscles — keep your bellybutton toward your spine.

The chop

The chop, which is so named because it sort of looks like the move a person makes when chopping wood, is the king of all functional stretches because it stretches your buttocks, back, abs, and chest all at the same time. This stretch also prepares your body for any twisting, reaching, or bending you may be doing in your workout.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand up tall with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides.
2. Bend your knees and pivot on your left big toe as you lift your left heel. Your right foot remains on the ground and faces forward (see Figure a).
3. Twist your hips to the right and reach both of your arms down and behind you.
4. Hold the position for one long, deep breath.
5. Come back to center and continue to turn your hips as you reach both arms overhead to the left (see Figure b).
6. Hold this position for one long, deep breath. You should feel the stretch in your right hip flexor, obliques, and chest.
7. Repeat the stretch from right to left for six to eight repetitions, and as you get stronger, work your way up to two sets of eight repetitions. To protect your back and spine, your hips should move with you and not remain forward throughout the moves.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do inhale as you reach up, and exhale as you bring your arm back down.
• Do lengthen your spine throughout the movement.
• Do hold your abdominals tight to protect your back.
• Don’t arch or compress your lower back.
• Don’t let your knees bow in or collapse inward.
• Don’t swing or create too much momentum; keep the movement fluid and under control.

Torso twists

This stretch warms up your whole body, as well as stretches your abs, back, and shoulders. It also prepares your body for any twisting or reaching that many sports and activities require.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand tall with your feet apart, your abs and chest lifted, your shoulders back and down, and your hands clasped together at chest level (see Figure a).
2. Inhale and as you exhale, bend your knees and pivot on your left big toe, turning your hips and shoulders to the right (see Figure 2b). Keep your feet wide and your knees bent. This stance keeps your center of gravity low and makes keeping your upper body relaxed easier.
3. Repeat on the left side (see Figure c).
4. Repeat the stretch for 16 to 20 repetitions, keeping your arms and shoulders relaxed so that the momentum of hips moves your elbows behind you.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do keep your knees bent at all times.
• Do keep your abdominals lifted.
• Don’t force or jerk the movement, because the movement should flow from side to side.
• Don’t lock your knees or keep your hips facing the front.

Alternating knee lifts

Alternating knee lifts are meant to not only warm up your entire body but also to give you a great dynamic stretch in your hips, buttocks, thighs, and lower back.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand tall with your feet together and your hands to your side.
2. Inhale and as you exhale, lift your left knee toward your chest (see Figure a).
3. Grab underneath your knee with both hands to lift your leg a little higher. Actively use your hands to lift your knee as close to your chest as possible. Lifting your knee a tiny bit higher stretches your buttocks and hamstrings a lot more.
4. Lower your leg down to starting position and repeat the exercise on your other leg (see Figure b).
5. Repeat the stretch for 16 to 20 repetitions. For a simple variation, lift your knees to the side rather than forward. As you become more advanced, try to raise up on the toes of the foot on the floor.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do stand up tall and bring your knee to your chest, not your chest to your knee.
• Do exhale every time you lift your knee.
• Do keep your chest lifted and shoulder blades down.
• Don’t grab the top of your kneecap.
• Don’t tilt your pelvis under.
• Don’t yank or forcefully pull on your knee — the movement should be smooth.

Making stretching a part of your warm-up

Like a good play or movie, a good warm-up has three acts or phases. These three phases are important because, first, they mimic the movements you’ll be doing in a slower, less vigorous fashion to help prevent injury. Second, the dynamic moves allow you to increase your range of motion. And finally, the static stretching phase helps you increase muscle length, which results in increased flexibility.
In this case, the three acts are as follows:

1. The rehearsal phase: In this phase, you should perform moves that mimic what your workout will be. For example:
• If you’re going jogging, start with a very light trot or walk.
• If you’re going to play tennis, spend a few minutes volleying the ball back and forth.
• If you’re taking an aerobics class, spend a few minutes doing light choreography.
2. The dynamic stretching phase: This phase refers to general, full-body moves that aren’t directly related to your intended activity. Such moves should be large range-of motion moves, traveling through all three planes of motion. They should be dynamic in nature, fluid, and rhythmic.
3. The multijoint static stretching phase: After a few minutes of mimicking your workout, and then going through some integrated, dynamic stretches, your body will be warm enough to perform a few multimuscle static stretches to introduce length to the muscles and mobility to the joints.

Never start your warm-up with static stretches. Always take a few minutes to perform the rehearsal moves and the general dynamic stretches before moving into the final static Keep in mind that the goal of stretching in the warm-up isn’t specifically to increase flexibility — it’s to generally warm up the body and introduce the range of motion that the upcoming workout requires of your muscles. Therefore, don’t hold the stretches in the warm-up for as long as you do in the cool-down, and never leave your comfort zone.

The big deal about warming up

In case you’re wondering, here’s what happens to your body when you warm up:

• Bloodflow through your muscles increases, which enhances the delivery of oxygen from your blood, and the speed of your nerve impulses increases. Both of these factors make your muscles work better.
• Your heart rate increases, which primes your cardiovascular system to handle the increased load from your workout.
• Your body and tissue temperature gently increase, which helps prevent injury by slowly increasing your body’s core temperature, which allows your blood pressure to stay regulated.
• Muscular tension decreases, and your connective tissue has an enhanced ability to lengthen, which in turn enhances your performance and decreases the likelihood of injury.
• You slowly and gently ease into the right frame of mind for the exertion of a good workout. This mindset prevents you from getting tired out or overdoing it if you start out exercising too vigorously.

Here’s what may happen if you don’t warm up:

• You may pull a muscle if you start stretching out “cold” and no blood or oxygen is circulating and flowing to the area.
• You may become short of breath or dizzy from your heart rate increasing too quickly. _ You may cause injury to a joint from launching into quick movements without first loosening up the surrounding tissue.

When you try to save five minutes before you exercise and skip your warm-up, you can pull a muscle. If that happens, you can’t exercise at all for two weeks while you heal (and limp around, sleep badly, and generally live with the pain). Five minutes versus two weeks — do the math. I’m no math major, but even I can see that warming up before you work out makes more sense than not doing so.

Stress! How it affects you and your body

Excess stress can lower your immune system, make you depressed, and make you sick, but according to Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, too much stress can also make you fat! How? Stress activates the “flight-or-fight” response, a physiological reaction designed to help your body react decisively in an emergency. When confronted with a perceived threat, your brain commands your adrenal glands to dump a large amount of the stress hormone cortisol into your bloodstream. One of the functions of cortisol is to quickly release energy stored in fat cells. Your muscles use the energy to help avert the emergency. The problem is that, even after the emergency is over, the level of cortisol in your bloodstream remains elevated to help encourage you to restock your stores of fat. In addition, stressed-out women who carry weight in their abdominal area secrete significantly more cortisol than women who don’t have excess fat around their waistline, according to a study from the University of California at San Francisco. And since abdominal fat tissue has up to four times the number of receptors for cortisol as does fat elsewhere in the body, the cells in this area are the most likely to store fat as a result of cortisol. Unfortunately, this excess tummy doesn’t just spill over the top of your low-rise jeans; it’s an indicator of increased risk for stroke and heart disease, two major killers of women over 50 years old.
What’s the solution? When it comes to reducing stress, experts consistently point to regular exercise, which can also help combat cardiovascular disease. And there’s nothing more effective to help you reduce the muscle tension brought on by excess stress than a good, invigorating stretch.

Seated ankle circles

As you get older you naturally lose range of motion in your joints, but particularly in the ankle joint. Ankle circles help increase range of motion in the joint, and they also make walking feel much more comfortable. So go ahead take your shoes off.
To do this exercise, follow these steps:

1. Sit up tall with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Place your hands under your right knee and clasp them together.
3. Use your hands to lift your knee, lifting your foot a few inches off the floor.
4. Inhale and as you exhale, circle your ankle eight times inward and then eight times outward.
5. Repeat this stretch on your other ankle. Imagine there’s a pencil attached to your big toe and you’re trying to draw the largest circle you can. Go slow enough so you draw a perfectly round circle.

A few do’s and don’ts for this exercise:

• Do sit up tall with your back straight.
• Do support the weight of your leg with your hands.
• Don’t rush the movement.