You can probably think of several lower body stretches from the top of your head: standing quad stretch, seated hamstring, four-leg stretch, runner's lunge, etc. But stretching your upper body muscles after an arms workout seems like more of a hassle.
Your chest, shoulders, arms and upper back deserve just as much love as your legs, especially after a grueling workout.
Arm stretches for after training
Although static stretching after a workout doesn't prevent injury or cure muscle soreness, it can help change the perception of pain. Since stretching after exercise feels good, it can cause something of a placebo effect when it comes to pain. But the benefits of stretching are longer term.
scorpion stretch
- Begin by lying on the floor with your hip bones pressed into the floor, arms extended at your sides in a T-shape.
- Press the palm of your left hand into the ground, keeping your right arm straight.
- Keeping your hip and right leg rooted, lift your left leg off the ground and place your left foot behind your body.
- Using your left palm for leverage, begin to open your chest to the left until you feel a stretch in your upper right body.
- Hold this position for 15-30 seconds and repeat on the opposite side.
Sofa Shoulder Stretch
- Start on all fours in front of a sofa or chair.
- Raise your elbows off the seat and clasp your hands behind your back.
- Keeping your eyes on the floor, press your chest toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your upper back, triceps, and shoulders.
- Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
This stretch helps to relax the spine and favors a correct posture of the back and shoulders. There is no rebounding in this exercise.
wrist stretch
- Get on all fours, with your knees under your hips and your palms under your shoulders.
- Keeping your weight on your knees, rotate your wrists until your fingers are facing your body.
- Gently shift the weight onto your hands, feeling a stretch along your inner wrist.
- Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
If we don't stretch our wrists frequently, we will perform this movement gently, as it can be tiring for these joints. The exercise pattern is always the same, even though the angle and position of the hands differ.
thread the needle
- Get into a four-legged, tabletop position with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders.
- Pass your left arm under your right shoulder. Extend your left arm as far as you can without feeling discomfort or pain.
- Once you reach the end of your range of motion, rest your left cheek and the back of your left shoulder on the floor.
- Hold for 15-30 seconds before repeating on the other side.
If this stretch feels too intense, we'll place the palm of the non-threading arm on the floor and lift our head off the floor. It is one of the most used stretches in yoga to relax the upper part of the body. Not only can we do it after the arm routines, but it can also be included in our day to day.
Biceps, chest and neck stretch
- Stand against a wall with your right arm stretched out in a T shape, palm on the wall.
- Keeping your palm rooted, slowly open your chest to the left side and turn your head toward your left shoulder.
- At the same time, slowly begin to move away from the wall until you feel a stretch through your right bicep, chest, and neck.
- Hold this position for 15-30 seconds and repeat on the opposite side.
triceps stretch
It is possibly one of the best-known stretches for after training. This sustained movement helps to loosen the muscle, although doing it improperly can stress the area. The proper technique is:
- We will start standing or we will stand upright. We will bring one arm above the head and drop the forearm behind us, resting it on the back and between the shoulder blades.
- With the other hand, we will grasp just above the bent elbow and gently pull until we feel a stretch in the shoulder and the back of the arm. No jerks should be done.
- We will try to keep the biceps close to the ear and we will not force it.
- We will hold for at least 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side.
Child's posture
This yoga pose has numerous health and posture benefits. To do it correctly we must follow the following steps:
- We will kneel on the mat, with the knees more separated than the width of the hips and the feet together behind us.
- We will sit on our heels (as best we can) and lean forward, resting our belly on our thighs.
- We will extend our arms in front of us and rest our forehead on the ground. We will feel this stretch in the shoulders and back, as well as the hips and buttocks.
- We will gently press the chest and shoulders towards the floor to deepen the stretch.
- We will maintain the position for at least 30 seconds.
bicep stretch
Most gym users forget to stretch the biceps, despite being one of the most worked muscles in upper body sessions. To get used to stretching it correctly we will do this exercise:
- We will sit on the floor with our feet fully supported and our knees bent.
- We will place the palms of the hands on the ground behind us with the fingers pointing out.
- Keeping your hands in place, slowly slide your butt away from your hands until you feel a stretch in your biceps.
- We will also feel a stretch in the chest and shoulders.
- We will maintain for at least 30 seconds.