The 5-Minute Stretching Routine That Will Keep You Energized

Stretching is the most effective way of keeping your muscles flexible and healthy. People stretch to increase their flexibility, relieve joint pain, increase their range of motion, and reduce their risk of injury. However, many people skip stretching because they think it’s time-consuming. In reality, a few minutes of stretching every day keeps you limber and healthy.

 HOW DOES IT HELP?

Stretching improves your overall health by reducing inflammation and improving circulation. It also reduces pain, increases your range of motion, reduces joint pain and muscular soreness, decreases the risk of injury and enhances athletic performance. Many athletes stretch before they exercise to increase the length and flexibility of their muscles. Additionally, stretching before bed helps you sleep better and reduces muscle soreness the next day. Stretches should be performed before and after physical exercise to gain benefits from both activities. Exercising without stretching can result in injuries and loss of fitness; this is also true for athletes who play sports that involve physical exertion.

WHEN TO STRETCH 

Stretches should be performed before and after physical activity to increase your range of motion (ROM). Stretch your neck to improve its range of motion when you’re feeling stiff or strained. Next, perform a series of stretches for your legs: ankle dorsiflexion, hip flexion forward leg raise (toe tuck or toes-outward), knee extension forward leg raise (knee tuck or knees up) and hip extension forward leg raise (knee push-up or knees back). You can also perform a series of stretches for your back: hip flexion back leg raise (knee straight) , thoracic spine extension back leg raise (scramble or toes-downward) , lumbar spine extension back leg raise (knee straight or feet flat on ground) , cervical spine extension back leg raise - head rolls side to side) . Once you’ve completed these stretches for each body part, move onto the next one.

QUICK ROUTINE

A quick 5-minute workout routine helps you stay limber: Stand up from your chair with your feet together. next bend forward at your hips until you feel a mild stretch in your abdomen and hamstrings. Hold this position for 20–30 seconds then slowly return to standing upright without swinging your arms forward along the way. Next bend forward at the hip again until you feel another mild stretch in the same areas— hold this position for 20–30 seconds then return to standing upright without swinging your arms forward along the way again. Perform this routine 2–3 times daily for better results.

IN ADDITION

Stretches keep you limber by improving flexibility in key areas such as the hamstrings, abdomen, shoulders and ankles— areas prone to injuries due to lack of flexibility. A quick 5-minute workout routine helps you stay limber as it increases your ROM effectively every day while fitting into most daily schedules. You only have to put in 5 minutes a day— which helps save time — to stay flexible!