Stretch for Life

Any personal trainer will tell you that a quality workout ends with a handful of stretches designed to boost flexibility, minimize soreness, and guard against injury in the muscle groups you just spent an hour beating up. But what about the muscles you use daily just to live your life?

“There are areas of the body people use all day long without ever tending to them,” says Les Tin, a trainer at 24 Hour Fitness in Honolulu. “Stretching the muscles there can improve posture, prevent injury, and increase overall health—while enhancing the quality of your workouts.” Tack these three stretches onto your usual cooldown, and reap the life benefits.

The Cooldown

Hips
Used in countless gym exercises—from spinning to squatting—hip flexors are also activated whenever we rise from sitting or lift an object. Weak or tight hip flexors can contribute to and compound back pain.

The Stretch
Assume a lunge position with your right knee on the ground and hands on your hips or knees. Keeping your knee planted and squeezing your butt, shift the weight of your body forward, feeling the stretch in your right hip. Hold for 30 seconds, switch sides, and repeat.

Chest and Shoulders
“Most people are predominantly forward-leaning,” says Tin. Tightness in your chest muscles can exacerbate that lean, rounding the shoulders and causing an unhealthy curvature of the spine. Worse, this slouching posture compresses the rib cage against the lungs, limiting lung capacity and endurance.

The Stretch
Standing in front of a door frame, press your right forearm against the frame so that your arm, bent at the elbow, forms an L shape. With your right foot forward and your left hand on your hip, lean forward and use your body weight to feel the stretch in your right pectoral and lower shoulder muscles. Hold for 30 seconds, switch sides, and repeat.

Neck
Weak, inflexible neck muscles can lead to poor posture while sitting at a desk or driving a car. Bad posture can compound the problem and trigger headaches, says Tin. The farther out of alignment the head is with the shoulders, the more strained the neck muscles are.

The Stretch
With your left hand behind your back, tilt your head to the right and rest your right hand on the left side of your skull, allowing the weight of your hand and arm to gently stretch the neck muscles on your left side. Hold for 30 seconds, switch sides, and repeat.