Stretches to increase flexibility make your muscles supple and strung, which improves your health quite a lot. If you’re stuck sitting at a desk all day or you just want to do some feel-good exercises to increase flexibility, check out these easy stretches that you can do at work or anywhere to prevent stiffness and reduce stress. Sitting still for long periods isn’t good for you, so remind yourself to stretch every day for a quick mental break and boost of energy! These great flexibility stretches will definitely help!
Slowly bring your right ear to your right shoulder while breathing deeply. Repeat this step to the other side while remembering not to raise shoulders up towards your ears. Many people carry tension in their neck from cradling the phone to their neck or sitting in a static position for a long time. This is one of the easiest stretches to increase flexibility, so it won’t garner weird looks from co-workers.
This is a great exercise to increase flexibility and it feels terrific after typing up reports or sitting for long hours. Lace your fingers together with palms facing out and slowly raise your arms over your head and stretch from your waist for 30 seconds while breathing deeply. This stretch feels great on your back too and will help you feel revived!
I love doing twists after workouts and this feels just as fantastic after a long meeting. Sit up straight in your chair and twist your upper body to the right while keeping your hips still and look over your right shoulder. You should feel a nice stretch from your low back to your neck. Repeat on the other side and forget about that mile-long meeting agenda.
We can all get stiff or achy backs after a long day and this lower back stretch to increase flexibility will feel like a mini-vacay for your back! Sit in your chair and spread legs to where they are wider than your hips and slowly bend forward, totally relaxing your back and neck and drop your head. If this feels awkward to do at work, try it in an empty room or at the end of the day with less people around if you feel more comfortable doing so.
Time to stretch those quads; you want to give your entire body a nice stretch! This flexibility improvement stretch is probably familiar to you. Start by standing on one leg then bend your knee while pulling your foot on the opposite side to your bum with your hand. Repeat stretch on the other leg. Do this quick move while making copies or sending a fax.
Do you feel like you get more face time with the computer monitor than with real people? If so, arm circles will feel great to loosen up your arms! Stand with arms out to the side and make circles with your arms. Be sure to make your circles both forwards and backwards and do either one or both arms at a time. Arm circles are great to tone your arms too so you can cross 2 things off that to-do list!
I don’t mean underhanded like you’re going to do something sly with your wrist. This pleasurable and honest stretch to increase flexibility involves sitting down and straightening out one arm in front of you with your palm facing up at shoulder level. Next, bend your wrist down and use the opposite hand to gently bring your fingers down and towards you. You should feel a nice stretch in the wrist, hold this position for 10 seconds and repeat on the other side.
If you type or write a lot it’s a must to stretch your fingers! This might seem like an ineffective move, but it increases circulation and flexibility in the fingers and wrist. Start by taking your left index finger with your right hand slowly rotate the index finger clockwise 5 times, repeat this step on the rest of your hand then rotate fingers counterclockwise and repeat to other hand.
This is another one of the easiest stretches to increase flexibility and feels awesome. First take one hand and place it under your elbow. Next, lift the elbow and stretch so your forearm is across your chest, try your best to stay still and not rotate your upper body. Hold for 10-20 seconds and repeat on the other side. Now you’re ready to take on the world!
Remember, it’s important to take breaks from your computer to rest your eyes and stretch those muscles. These stretches to increase flexibility also help with circulation and prevent injury. Be good to yourself and make sure you take time out to stretch! Do you have any other flexibility stretches you'd like to share?
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