Overhead forward arm swings

A very important part of overall fitness is being able to maintain your balance. Not only will this rhythmic full-body stretch wake you up, energize you, and lengthen your spine, but also it can help improve your balance, which means less accidents throughout the day when you’re climbing stairs or carrying groceries or your kids.
To do this exercise, follow these steps:

1. Stand tall with your feet together and your arms to your sides.
2. Inhale and reach your arms overhead, while raising your heels off the floor so you balance on the balls of your feet. Hold the pose for a count of three as you maintain your balance.
3. As you exhale, let your arms swing down as you bend your knees and shift your weight to your heels.
4. Use the momentum of your arms to swing your arms back up overhead and balance again. If you’re having trouble balancing at the top of this exercise, check to make sure that your abdominals are pulled in and your shoulders are pressed down.
5. Exhale and lower again.
6. Repeat this exercise five times.

On the last one, hold the balance for as long as you can.
A few do’s and don’ts for this exercise:

• Do keep your abdominals lifted.
• Do keep your shoulder blades down, especially when you raise your arms overhead.
• Do think of your spine getting longer each time you reach up.
• Don’t let your belly stick out or compress your lower back.
• Don’t hold your arms up behind your shoulders.