Stretch It Out

Butterfly Stretch

This post is dedicated to all my walking buddies who walked with me in the cold-cold weather and were sore after our Sunday afternoon walk. I won't lecture much on the what-to's and what-not-to's on stretching. Here are a few of my favorite stretches that I do after a long walk.

The above 2 are Hamstring stretches.The one on the left below is ankle over knee stretch. It's one of my favorite hip stretches. Square your hips up and knees bent at 90 degrees. Place the ankle over the knee and use the hands to hug the other thigh as in the picture. Gently bring the thighs closer to the body until you feel the stretch. The range of motion is not large here. The one in the bottom right is calf stretch. On this one, stand on the edge of the steps with the fore feet on the step and bring one heel down at a time.

Ease into the stretches gradually breathing in and out. The primary purpose of the stretch is to help release the toxins or the build ups in the muscles. One stretch may feel better than an other. I usually do each one of these for a count of 8 or 16 if it feels good. Listen to your body and let it guide you.

** All images are from Shape.com or WebMD.com.