Sat down at a desk all day, it’s easy to let your muscles get tight. Do your body a favor and add this 6 move routine to your weekly training schedule. This simple circuit focuses on improving flexibility and realigning the hips to improve your running posture, keep you limber, reduce muscle imbalance, and reduce your risk of injury.
Exercise 1: Scorpion
Areas stretched: Side and stamoach muscles (obliques and rectus abdominus)
Why do it? Living in a world where we permanently hunch over and sit down, we have to make a conscious effort to stretch the muscles out in the front of your body
Technique:
- Lie down on your stomach
- Extend your arms sideways
- Lift leg up and cross it over body
- Place your right foot down on the left side of your body
- Keep your head, shoulder and arms on the floor
- Hold the position
- Return to the centre position and repeat with your left leg
Safey tip: Only stretch within your limits. Don’t worry if at first, your foot can’t touch the floor.
Exercise 2: Resistance band shoulder rotation
Area stretched: Rotator cuff and chest (infra spinatus, supra spinatus, sub scapularis, teres minor, teres major, deltoids, pectorals)
Why do it? This will help to improve your posture and running arm swing
Technique:
- Hold a resistance band slightly wider than your shoulders in front of your body
- Lift your arms up above your head
- Continue the move as far as possible over your head until your hands are behind your back
- Rotate your arms back to the front position
Safety tip: Keep your arms straight and only stretch within your limits.
Exercise 3: Piriformis
Areas stretched: Hip muscle (pirforimis)
Why do it? A tight piriformis can lead to lower back pain as it pulls your hips out of alignment
Technique:
- Kneel on all fours
- Straighten your right leg and turn the lower part of your left leg inwards and under your body
- Keep your pelvis straight
- Lie down with your upper body
- Extend your arms forwards
Safety tip: Slowly ease into the move. The longer you hold the position, the more effective the stretch
Exercise 4: Windmill
Areas stretched: Inner thighs, back muscles, side muscles and chest (adductors, hamstrings, erector spinae, obliques, pectorals)
Why do it? This is a great full body stretch – very handy if you don’t have much time
Technique:
- Stand with your feet twice your hip width apart
- Bend forward from your hips and place your right hand on the floor
- Extend your left arm up towards the ceiling
- Hold the position before repeating towards the other side
Safety tip: If you are not flexible enough to put your hand on the floor, place it on the bottom step of your staircase
Exercise 5: Hip mobility
Areas stretched: Hip flexors, side muscles (psoas muscles, obliques)
Why do it? Loosening up all the muscles around your hips will improve your running stride and help to keep an upright running posture
Technique:
- Stand with your right leg in front of your left
- Bend your back leg and rest your knee on the floor
- Place your left hand next to your right foot
- Stretch your right arm up to the ceiling
- Hold the position before repeating on the other side
Saefty tip: Keep each position for a few seconds to ensure the muscles release
Exercise 6: Lying quadriceps
Areas stretched: Front high (quadriceps)
Why do it: Tightness through the muscles in your front thigh can cause injuries and change your hip posture
Technique:
- Lie on your left side
- Bend your right leg and place it in front of you on the floor
- Keep and straight line between your left knee, hips and shoulders
- Bend you left knee
- Grab hold of your left ankle with your right hand and pull your heel towards your bottom
Safety tip: Push your hips forward to maintain a straight body position
