Stay Limber: Flexibility Exercises to Keep You Moving

Are you looking for a way to improve your athletic training? Or are you having sore muscles after every workout? Then trying a variety of flexibility exercises may be your solution.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several benefits of flexibility exercises. Such as improving your flexibility can help your muscles work more effectively and allow joints to move to their full range of motion.

In addition, stretching exercises for flexibility can help increase the blood flow to your muscles, and some studies suggest that stretching may help reduce the risk of injuries, but there are some mixed results on that.

Improving your flexibility may improve your performance in other athletic training areas. For example, a runner may benefit from adding hip flexor stretches to their workout routine.

So, what flexibility exercises should you introduce to your workout routine? Keep reading on to find out a few flexibility exercises to try.

Hip Flexibility Exercises

Hip flexor muscle can become tight from sitting for long periods, or many runners experience tight hip flexors. When you stretch out your hip flexors, it can help improve your athletic performance and can help reduce the change of injury.

Spinal Twist Lunge

One stretch to help open up your hips and help improve mid-back flexibility is a lunge with a spinal twist. This stretch will stretch out your hip flexors, quads, and back all at the same time.

To do a spinal twist lunge, take a step, so your feet are in a staggered stance, then bend your front knee, so you are in a lunge.

You should start to feel the stretch in your hips already. From this, you can bend more to get a deeper stretch or bend less if the stretch hurts.

Once in a lunge, place your opposite hand as your bent knee and put it on the floor. If you cannot reach the floor, grab a yoga block and place your hand on the yoga block. Extend the other hand up towards the ceiling, and you twist open and hold this position for a few seconds or minutes, then switch to the other side.

Figure 4 Stretch

A figure 4 stretch is a great option to help stretch out your IT band in your hips. It’s a relatively easy pose and can gently improve flexibility, relieve pain from sciatic and help relieve knee pain as well.

To do this stretch, lie down on the floor or a yoga mat and cross one foot over your opposite thigh. Then lift the leg that the leg is crossed over up off the ground. To deepen the stretch, grab onto the back of your leg and gently pull it towards your chest and hold for a few seconds, then switch sides.

Back Flexibility Exercises

If you feel pain in your back or have tightness after a workout, improving your back flexibility and stretching out your back may help elevate these problems. Trying either a Cobra pose or inversion table are two exercises to help improve flexibility.

Cobra Pose

Cobra pose is an excellent stretch for your back muscles and core. To do this stretch, lie on your belly and place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders. Then stretch your legs out behind you.

Next, lift your chest off the mat or floor and think about pushing your hips into the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds, then relax back down.

Inversion Table

In addition to these stretches, look into an inversion table. Inversion tables are a great tool to use to improve flexibility and help with back problems. Inversion tables can be used before or after a workout to improve back flexibility.

Get Moving With These Flexibility Exercises Today

Whether you are stiff from sitting at a desk all day for your job or looking for a way to improve your personal fitness, you should try some of these flexibility exercises.

From yoga mats and blocks to inversion tables and so much more, contact us at the Fitness Emporium today if you need equipment to enhance your flexibility.