Basic Flexibility Stretches

By: Julie Knapp

Flexibility stretches that lengthen muscles are a great counterbalance to strength training because strength straining causes muscles to contract and shorten.If you want to prevent injuries, avoid post-workout pain and improve your flexibility, you will need to make basic stretching flexibility exercises a part of your daily routine.

When doing any stretch, you want to remember to: warm up before you stretch - even a short walk will do, hold stretches for 30 seconds to get the full benefit, don't bounce in stretches (you might cause tiny tears in your muscles hindering, not helping, flexibility) and relax and breathe as you stretch.

You may prefer to do simple stretches at home without any equipment - hamstring stretch, seated spinal twist, butterfly stretch or simply touching your toes.

There's also stretching exercise equipment that you can purchase. Stretching rubber bands and fabric straps can help you increase your range of motion when you're working on a stretch. You can wrap them around your feet so you can pull your leg closer. And if you are looking for back stretching equipment, you should try a stability ball. You can lay on the ball, helping your back to arch naturally over the ball, giving it a good stretch.

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