- Exercise For Your Health
- Plan One: Flexibility
The only way to become more flexible
is to regularly stretch all the muscles and joints through their
natural ranges of motion. Daily stretching is not too often.
Don't be discouraged if results are slow. Often it takes 6 months
or more to see results. The effort is worth it, however, to avoid
exercise injuries caused by moving a stiff muscle or joint.
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Stretch the muscle to be used
during other types of more vigorous activities as part of warming-up
to that exercise. After exercise, when the body is warm and blood
is flowing, stretching is particularly effective. Stretching
occurs naturally after waking from sleep or after riding in a
car. Take advantage of the urge to stretch!
Important points:
- Move slowly.
- Do NOT bounce.
- Do NOT stretch to the point
of pain.
- Repeat each stretch several
times, and HOLD for a slow count of 8-15 seconds.
- Breathe deeply.
Standing stretches: |
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- Reach above the head as far
as possible with one hand, then repeat with the other hand.
- Circle the head forward, chin
to shoulder, chin to chest, then chin to other shoulder.
- Shrug shoulders up toward ears,
then relax shoulders.
- Make large arm circles, forward
and backward.
- With elbows at shoulder height,
hug yourself.
- With elbows at shoulder height,
clasp hands and twist at the waist to one side, keeping hips
forward. Repeat on the other side.
- Stand facing a wall 3 feet away.
Place palms on the wall and keep feet flat on the floor. Slowly
lean forward toward the wall.
- Stand facing a chair or wall.
Hold on with the left hand while grasping above the right ankle
with the right hand, and pull right heel toward the right buttocks.
Do not bend over to do this. If you cannot reach the ankle, lift
the foot toward the buttocks as far as possible. Repeat with
left hand and left ankle.
Sitting stretches: (in a chair
or on the floor)
- Legs together, point toes toward
the floor then toward the ceiling.
- Legs together, reach the hands
toward the toes.
- Legs apart, reach both hands
toward one foot then the other.
Lying-down, knees- bent stretches:
- Pull knee to chest, using hands
behind the thigh; while knee is bent, make circles with the ankle;
reverse the direction. Repeat knee to chest and ankle circles
on the other leg.
- Push the low back to the floor,
tilting the hips forward.
- 1 Plan One: Flexibility
- 2 Plan Two: Strength
- 3 Plan three: Endurance
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