Because a long ride is no easy feat, stretching is key to reap the benefits from miles of sweaty satisfaction. As soon as you hop off the bike, be sure to stretch your tired muscles, paying special attention to your legs and chest. If you're in rush, these five quick and effective stretches will prevent injury and make your next ride the best one yet!
From marathon runners to desk dwellers, tight hips plague many. The discomfort in your hips might be caused in part by tight hip flexors, the group of muscles that flex your femur and pull your knee upwards, the glutes, and even your inner thighs. The good news is even a minute of targeted stretching can help! Show your hips some love with these quick and easy stretches.
Butterfly Stretch
Runner's Lunge
Keep reading for one more stretch that will help release tension in tight hips.
When you're at work, leaving the office for some fresh air can change your day. But if you're swamped with work and tied to your desk, this isn't always a viable option. Even if you can't leave, you can still treat your body to a quick stretching session. Watch this video for three moves that will relieve stress in your shoulders, neck, back, and wrists in less than a minute.
After an intense run or indoor cycling class, your tired muscles are screaming for some love. Here are six must-do moves to target all the tight areas of the body, increasing flexibility, preventing injury, and reducing next-day soreness.
Tipover Tuck
Targets: hamstrings, lower back, chest, shoulders
One-Armed Camel
Targets: quads, abs, shoulders
Open Lizard
Targets: hip flexors, hips
Keep reading to see three more essential stretches.
Training for a marathon is no easy task, making injury prevention key in order to remain at your best. With our 18-week training plan and our core-strengthening series, you can build the endurance needed for your first 26.2 miles. To prevent injury along the way, we have also created a prehab stretch and strengthening series, designed to keep you healthy and strong leading up to race day. Performed in this order, this combination of exercises will minimize the common running injuries that may occur during marathon training.
— Additional reporting by Emily Bibb
What do dropping down to give me 50, an hour of swimming freestyle, and sitting hunched over a computer all have in common? Tight and tense shoulders, that's what. Aside from scheduling an appointment with a massage therapist, you can hop on your mat and show this area some love with this chest- and shoulder-opening yoga sequence. Move through all 11 postures on the right side, and then repeat on the left.
Source: Laughing River Yoga Studio
The calves are one of the most overused and overlooked muscles in the body, and if you wear heels, run regularly, or both, stretching your calves is a must, since tight, shortened calves can lead to injury. These five calf stretches can be done almost anywhere, so click through to learn how to do them and then add these stretches to your daily routine!
If you run, bike, or are deskbound all day, your hamstrings could use some extra love. It not only feels good to stretch this commonly tight area, but hamstring flexibility is also important for the health of your back, hips, and knees. Here are six easy and essential stretches that target the backs of your legs. To avoid injury, it's best to do them at the end of a workout, when the muscles are warm.
After an intense session of core exercises, your abs are screaming for relief. Here are some stretches you can do right after working your abs to help relieve soreness the next day.
Source: Thinkstock
Chances are, if you're sitting at a desk, you're hunching. Rounded shoulders and back are symptoms of all those hours spent sitting in a chair. While the long-term solution to the problem is to create an ergonomic desk environment, for immediate relief of tension and strain, take two minutes to do these quick stretches now to realign your shoulders, straighten up, and feel better fast.
Behind-the-Back Stretch
While you do this stretch, focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together to open your shoulders.
Read on for one more one-minute stretch to do in your office.
