The ONLY 3 Stretches You Need for Better Flexibility

Transcript

if you're feeling a little stiff and you want to improve your flexibility but you don't have a great deal of time on your hands to dedicate to a lengthy program then the good news is that i have just three stretches that you need to improve your flexibility and i'll share with you why everything else isn't actually necessary so let's get into it the first of the stretches is placed first on purpose because the benefits of this stretch carry through into the other two i love it because it tackles so many muscles in one go which makes it perfect for when you're short on time so come to sit onto your bum feet a little bit wider than your hips and lean yourself back onto your hands with your fingertips pointing outward from here lift your bum off the floor towards a reverse tabletop position you want to think of tucking your tailbone under and engaging your bum muscles as if you're trying to flatten out the front of the hip but don't worry at all if it's not actually flat that doesn't matter press your chest up towards the sky and this might be where you choose to stay if you've got a bit more flexibility to play with here next step one foot back a little underneath your bum before pressing your weight forward as if you were going to try to tap your knee to the floor and again it doesn't matter how far the knee goes it just matters the direction that you're sending it in hold for 20 to 30 seconds maybe take a little pause if your arms are tired before switching to the other side so why do this one first what difference does it actually make if you try this stretch with the variation of stepping back with the foot you'll notice that it's also stretching the soles of your feet an area which is commonly neglected in stretching but is an absolute game changer trouble is it can feel pretty uncomfortable so let me explain why it's worth putting up with aside from improving blood flow maintaining healthy foot arches and helping improve our balance and stability stretching your feet also has a great impact on the flexibility of the rest of the body due to this little thing called fascia quite simply fascia is a thin layer of connective tissue which encases everything within the body our muscles our organs our bones it's all connected like one big spider web loosening up the fascia through stretching the soles of the feet has an impact on the rest of the fascia in the body helping you find more flexibility in your other stretches to come so if that foot tuck variation was too much for you in the first stretch just take a few moments to sit on your heels before moving on that first stretch tackles a lot of lengthening into the front of the body so number two is targeting the back of the body the side that allows us to bend squat and fold and can help reduce the chances of back pain for this one i want you to grab a stick a strap or maybe even just a rolled up pair of socks something that you can hold into your hip crease as you then come down into a low squat your feet should be a little bit wider than your hips but keep your toes mostly facing forwards this is already quite a tough position to get into so if you need something to make this a little bit more accessible slightly elevate your heels with something weight plates or books do a great job of this so from here without dropping your stick strap or sock press your hips up to the sky whilst your hands stay on the floor you could hook onto the front of your toes or feet for stability if you prefer and yes that might mean for many of you that your legs do not straighten don't go thinking you're the only one because it's fully intended this way we do not need to straighten our legs in order to stretch the hamstrings so stay true to that sock which will help you keep the good form so alternate between a low squat and your forward fold for around 60 seconds pausing in each for a few moments and this is going to stretch your hamstrings your glutes and your lower back so before we look at the final stretch why is it that these are the only three stretches you need there are many ways that we can stretch a muscle many different yoga postures or moves that we can make that will all stretch any given muscle we want to target but simply put they all do the same job just in a different way variance is great for enjoyment or challenging us in other ways such as building strength balance or coordination but these aspects are not essential for flexibility improvements simply doing these three stretches perhaps when you wake up or perhaps before you go to bed will make a world of difference to your flexibility so with our first two stretches we have stretched the feet and ankles the quads the hip flexors the wrists the biceps the chest and shoulders glutes hamstrings and back so with number three we're going to hit our inner thighs our lats and triceps to give our full body a stretch in just three efficient moves this last one is great for improving your shoulder mobility for things like handstands and top shelf snacks as well as improving your ability to squat low and help improve your posture come to a tall kneeling position and then step one foot out to the side toes turning out away from you feel free to put a cushion underneath the knee for comfort if you need allow yourself to then lunge the hips down towards that front ankle pulling your tailbone slightly under and driving the knee out wide this bit gets into those inner thighs so then add the side body reach for an upper body stretch rest your forearm onto the thigh or go deeper if you wish as you reach the other arm up and over bend the arm to cradle the back of your head as you then look up towards the sky think of rolling the top ribcage on top of the bottom ribcage that your chest stays facing outward and maybe even press the head lightly into the hand for a bigger stretch into the tricep stay for around 30 seconds before changing over and repeating on the other side the thing is knowing these three stretches and doing them is one thing but if you really want to improve your flexibility you need to make sure you're not ignoring this one thing that could be really holding you back so go and watch this video next to uncover the secret to instant flexibility improvements