The Importance of Stretching

Stretching keeps your muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and you need that flexibility to maintain range of motion in the joints. Without it, your muscles shorten and become tight, weak and unable to fully extend. This puts you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.

Regular stretching keeps muscles long, lean, and flexible, and this means that exertion won't put too much force on the muscle itself. Healthy muscles will also help a person with balance problems to avoid falls -- think of stretching as your fountain of youth. Try these stretches to help get your stretch on.

Standing side stretches

Forward bend walks

Standing side stretches

Forward bend walks

Warrior 1

Runners lunge

Triangle

Warrior 1

Runners lunge

Triangle

Forward bend to overhead shoulder stretch

Neck stretch

Standing chest and delt stretch

Cat-cows

Child's pose to cobra

Child's pose to shoulder stretch

Quad stretch to pigeon

Modified plank to side stretch

Hamstring stretch

Butterfly stretch

Lying side quad stretch

Lying pigeon

Lying side quad stretch

Lying pigeon

Lying hamstring stretch

Lying pigeon

Lying hamstring stretch

Lying figure 4

Bridge

Spine twist

Bridge

Spine twist