It's easy to go through life without stretching. After all, a traditional workday can involve eight hours sitting at a desk, an hour or so of commuting, sitting in front of the TV, and so on. Even after a workout, you might need to rush out of the gym without a proper cool down. So it's no wonder many of us are complaining about joint pain and stiffness.
"The nice thing about gentle stretching is that it's feasible to do when you're in pain—and often provides the fastest relief," Jamie Costello, fitness director at the Health & Injuries, previously told Prevention.com.
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Below, we've listed 31 of the best stretches to alleviate pain and increase your flexibility and range of motion. These stretches will also help avoid injury during cardio or strength workouts. Gently lean into each position and observe which ones feel particularly challenging. Choose four of those and aim to do them once a day, every day, and you'll become more flexible within weeks.
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Hold times: Aim to hold the position for at least 2 minutes unless stated otherwise in the instructions (for example, the neck stretch should be done in about 30 seconds). If 2 minutes feels too difficult at first, simply hold for as long as you can. Aim to beat your previous stretch time with each new session.
Pro tips: How to Avoid an Achilles Injury. You do not What Runners Need to Know About Sleep. And don't worry too much about where you should be feeling the stretch. The truth is, this can vary person to person. Attempt the stretch as best you can and observe where you feel tight. Use any suggested modifications if need be and trust that your body is releasing whatever it needs to so you can become more comfortable in the position.
Toe Fanning
Targets: What you need
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: While either sitting or laying down, spread your toes as wide as you can then relax. You have the option to flex and point your foot as you do this exercise to get some extra ankle mobility work in. Repeat 10-15 times on each foot.
Foot Dome
Targets: plantar fascia (the thick tissue at the bottom of your foot)
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Grab a lacrosse ball or golf ball and place the middle of your foot on the top of the ball. Hold for your desired time. You might also want to use the ball to massage out any tension. Do this by rolling your foot back and forth on the ball, particularly in areas that feel a bit sore. Repeat on the other foot.
Banded Calf Stretch
Targets: hamstrings, hips, and calves
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Grab a yoga strap or exercise band and lie on the ground. Keep the right leg bent and rooted into the floor. Loop the band around the ball of your left foot and raise the leg into the air. Maintain a slight bend in your left knee. Flex the left foot an pull that band toward you until you feel a stretch. Repeat on the other side.
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Downward-Facing Dog
Targets: hamstrings, hips, calves
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Start on your hands and knees then hike your hips into the air as you bring your head back and through your arms. Push the tops of your thighs back and try to straighten out your legs as best you can but do not lock out 100%. Hold for your desired amount of time.
Double Leg Glute Bridge
Targets: hip flexors
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Lie on your back with your knees up, feet flat on the mat. Squeeze your butt and lift your hips into the air. Hold for 3 seconds then lower your hips to the floor. Repeat 10-15 times. By the way: This is a great stretch to do as a dynamic warmup before exercise.
Single Leg Glute Bridge
Targets: hip flexors
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: This is a more challenging version of the double leg glut bridge. Lie down on your back with your right leg bent and your left leg straight in front of you. Lift the left leg slightly off the floor (the height doesn't matter). Squeeze your butt and lift the hips up into the air. Lower back down to the ground and repeat 10-15 reps on each leg. This is another dynamic stretch that is great for pre-workout warmups.
Sitting Hamstring Stretch
Targets: RW+ Membership Benefits
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Sit tall and then reach for your toes (or as far as you can) without letting your back round. It's okay to keep your knees slightly bent. Hold for your chosen time.
Standing Forward Fold
Targets: Best Running Watches
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: From a standing position, reach for your shins, your toes, or the floor. Bend your knees if you find your hamstrings are particularly tight. Rest here and breathe.
Standing Quad Stretch
Targets: hamstrings, hips, and calves
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Stand with your feet right beneath your hips. Lift your right ankle and grab it with your right hand. For balance: stare at a point on the floor and/or lift your left arm up. Squeeze your right butt cheek to accentuate the stretch. Perform this on the opposite side.
Standing IT Band Stretch
Targets: How to Film Yourself Running for a Gait Analysis
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Start standing with your feet together. Step your right foot behind you, and bring your right arm over your head. Shift your hips to the right and hold. Repeat on the other side.
Kneeling Hip Stretch
Targets: Other Hearst Subscriptions
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Start in a kneeling position on the floor with your left leg up, right shin on the ground. Place a cushion under that right knee if this is uncomfortable. Shift your hips forward and imagine you are pressing your pelvis into the floor. To protect your front knee, make sure it doesn't move past your big toe. For an added chest opener, lift your arms toward your ears and lift your chest toward the ceiling. Hold, then repeat on the opposite side.
Pigeon Pose
Targets: Hips flexors and deep lateral rotators (the muscles that rotate the femur or thigh bone)
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: This one is the easiest to get into from a downward-facing dog position. Start there, then raise your left leg up in the air up and back behind you. Then bend the knee as you bring that leg forward toward your chest. Rest the left leg on the floor with the shin as parallel to the front of your mat as possible. Rest your right leg straight (or bend it 90 degrees) behind you. Lean over your left leg and rest your forearms on the mat. Hold for your desired amount of time.
Figure Four Stretch
Targets: What Runners Need to Know About Sleep
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Lie on your back and bring your left ankle on top of your right thigh just below the knee. Grab behind your right leg and gently pull your legs toward your chest. Flex the left foot to protect the left knee. Do the same on the opposite side.
Butterfly
Targets: A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Sit tall on your mat with the soles of your feet touching one another. To put less stress on your knees, move your feet farther away from your body. Grab your feet with both arms, then lean forward from the hips and bring your torso toward the floor. If this bothers your lower back, keep your spine straight and only go as low as you can while maintaining a flat back.
External Hip Rotation Stretch
Targets: Maintain VO2 Max as You Age
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Lie on your back with your legs up in the air, knees flexed. Keep your shoulders anchored to the mat while your rotate your knees to the right as they reach for the floor. Hold for your desired amount of time, then switch to the other side.
Internal Hip Rotation Stretch
Targets: How to Avoid an Achilles Injury
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Lie on your back with your knees bent toward the ceiling. Lift your left leg and place the ankle above your right knee or outside of your right thigh. While keeping both shoulders glued to the floor, rotate your hips toward the left until you feel the stretch. Hold for your desired time, then switch.
Clamshells with Resistance Band
Targets: glutes
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Activating your glutes is one of the best ways to take the burden off tight hips. And resistance bands come in real handy for that! Grab one and lie on your left side. Bend your knees. Squeeze your right glute as you lift you rotate that right knee up and back. Hold for a second, then bring that right knee back down. Repeat for 10-15 times and then switch and repeat on the other side.
Hurdler
Targets: hamstrings, hips, and lower back
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: First, sit on your mat with your legs straight in front of you. Bring your left leg in so that your left foot is touching the inner thigh of your right leg. Sit tall then reach as far down your right leg as you can without letting your back round. It's okay to bend your right knee a bit. Hold for your chosen amount of time, then switch to the other side.
Cat-Cow
Targets: The Best Yoga Stretches to Ease Stiffness and Pain
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Begin on your hands and knees with your wrist directly beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. For cat: Inhale and arch your back into the air as you squeeze your bellybutton into your spine. Exhale as your transition into cow: Drop your belly toward your mat, lift your chest up and look to the ceiling.
Seated Twist
Targets: A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Ways to Revolutionize Your Recovery: Begin seated on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Cross your right leg over your left, keeping that right knee bent toward the ceiling. Then rotate your torso toward your right leg as you place your right arm on the inside of the right thigh. Maintain the twist and hold. Switch to the other side.
Adele Jackson-Gibson is a certified fitness coach, model, and writer. She earned her master's in Journalism from NYU, her bachelor's in Literature from Yale University, and has since written for various sports, fitness, beauty, and culture outlets.
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