5 Moves to Lengthen Your Muscles (and Why It’s a Good Thing to Do)
Don’t Just Strengthen, Lengthen, Too
By Wendy Toth | January 8, 2013It doesn’t matter if you’re a walker, runner, hiker, cyclist or dabble in something more extreme like rock climbing—the muscles you work to support your favorite activities get tight, often pulling other areas of the body out of their optimal positions. Enter muscle lengthening. By lengthening, you’re improving posture, preventing injury, and often, alleviating pain, says Nancy Byrd Radding, fitness director at The Oaks at Ojai.
Designed by Radding, this stretching series targets some of the most important muscle groups to lengthen. “Stretching is less about reps, and more about hold,” she says. “I recommend stretching daily for 10 minutes.”
For the following, do each stretch one time and hold for around 30 seconds.
Hamstring Stretch
Benefits: Lengthening the hamstrings (back of the thigh) is essential for injury prevention. If your hamstrings are tight, they pull on your lower back, which can lead to bigger problems. Flexible hamstrings help your posture as well.
How-To: Lie on the ground, legs out straight. Keeping your legs straight, draw one leg toward the body, gently opening the back of the thigh.
Tip: The opposite knee can be bent if having it straight feels like a strain.
Image courtesy of The Oaks at Ojai
Lower Back Stretch
Benefits: Stretching the lower back reduces back stress and pain, and also improves overall posture.
How-To: Lie on the ground, legs out straight. Draw the knees up into the chest. Gently rock your knees forward and back, side to side, and in small circles.
Tip: Treat this stretch like a little massage for your lower back.
Image courtesy of The Oaks at Ojai
Calf Stretch
Benefits: Lengthening your calves is essential, especially to those who do a lot of cardio. Tight calves that do not get lengthened can lead to lower leg/ foot discomfort.
How-To: Stand facing a wall and rest your forearms against it just below face-level. Step back with one foot and come into a lunge position, bending your forward knee and straightening your back leg. Press the back heel as close to the floor as you can. Keep your upper body relaxed.
Tip: Stretching the calves is especially great for plantar fasciitis-a strain of the ligament connecting your heel bone to your toes. If your heel or the bottom of your foot hurts when you stand or walk, you have probably strained your plantar fascia.
Image courtesy of The Oaks at Ojai
Neck Stretch
Benefit: Neck stretches are important in our technological world, where we spend hours a day hunched over a computer.
How-To: Look right to left slowly, then up and down, then bring each ear toward each shoulder gently.
Tip: Keep your back straight and shoulders back while doing this move. Many of us carry our tension in our necks, so maintaining range of motion here is very important for overall posture and back comfort.
Image courtesy of The Oaks at Ojai
Chest Openers
Benefit: Chest openers will help fight roundness in the upper back. We look better and feel better when the chest is open.
How-To: Lie on a bench, or a foam roller or a bolster pillow with the pillow lined up with your spine. Open the arms out to the sides of the body.
Tip: Open your arms slowly to feel the pectorals release.
Image courtesy of The Oaks at Ojai
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