Stretching exercises are very important for both the athlete and the average amateur. Firstly, the stretched muscles give you extraordinary freedom of movement and well-being. Secondly, stretching is simply necessary, both before and after the main training.
After stretching with the muscles is easier and more enjoyable to work. When lifting weights or any other physical exercises, the muscles contract, and the process of their relaxation continues for several hours after the workout is completed - stretching is useful here.
A similar set of training should include stretching exercises for the spine, arms, groin, thighs and legs. For beginners, slow, static stretching will be most suitable - here the risk of injuries is much lower. But before you start stretching, you should warm up the muscles. You can do a few standard exercises, or just dance.
Hand stretching exercises
- Stand straight, raise your right hand to neck level. With your left hand, grab the right elbow and slowly push down - you should feel a stretching of the muscles of the shoulder. Hold for a few seconds in the most tense position. Repeat for left hand.
- Now raise your right hand and bend at the elbow - your palm should touch the neck. With your left hand, grab the right elbow and stretch it to the left. Repeat with your left hand.
Exercises for stretching the spine
- Lie on the floor, put your even hands over your head, align your legs. Now slowly pull the body behind your hands while pulling on your toes. Freeze in such a tense position.
- Get on your knees, raise your hands above your head. Lean back slowly, bending your back.
- Lie on the floor and make a "birch". Bend your legs back, trying to lower your toes to the floor. Feet must remain level.
- Lie on your stomach, rest your hands on the floor and lift the body. Bend your legs at the same time and try to reach the crown with your toes. Remember that hips should not be torn off the floor.
- Another effective exercise for the spine is the bridge. Better to start from a prone position. Bend your knees and put your palms on the floor. Now lift the body and hips above the surface, bending the back with an arc.
Leg stretching exercises
- Get straight. Tilt the case down, trying to fully place your palms on the floor and hold for 15 seconds. The knees should remain flat. Now relax your neck and shoulders - you just have to hang in the air and feel your leg muscles stretch under their own weight.
- Sit down, bending your knees, and put your hands on the floor. Now leave the right bent leg in front, and straighten the left leg and pull back. Swing slowly up and down, feeling how the muscles of the groin and hips are stretched. Change legs.
- Now you need to sit comfortably on the floor and stretch the straight legs in the knees in front of you. Grasp your feet with your hands, and slowly pull the body down, trying to touch your knees with your nose. Repeat stretching several times.
- Sit on the floor, spread your legs to the sides so that already sitting you feel how to stretch your groin muscles. Slowly tilt the case forward, trying to lean your elbows on the floor (if you can do this easily, try to touch the floor with your nose). Hold it for a few seconds. Now put the body first on the left foot, and then on the right. Remember that the knee joints should not bend at the same time - it is better to lean less, but keep your legs straight.
If until this time you have never done anything like this, then you should start very carefully. Stretching exercises will initially cause discomfort, and sometimes even pain. It is best to conduct the first few workouts under the supervision of a coach - he will give you the necessary instructions. Remember that during the exercises it is necessary to adhere to the “golden mean” - not too zealous, but not sorry for yourself.