13 Most Helpful Workouts For Boosting Flexibility

 

Imagine a day where you would be unable to perform simple daily activities like getting out of the bed, sweeping the floor or even lifting up your child with ease.

It sounds scary, doesn’t it? Flexibility is the reason behind the ease with which one performs these day-to-day activities. Flexibility is crucial for all of us. But the body gets stiffer and deteriorates gradually with age.
It is getting worse in today’s time because of the sedentary lifestyle that most of us lead. The best way to avoid this problem is by maintaining regular flexible body exercise routine that can help overall mobility and body movements.

So here is a list of the top 13 must-do flexibility exercises, along with their benefits.

1. Hip flexor:

For people, who spend a lot of time sitting, they must realize the potential threat their lower back will face in the long run. This exercise is for the lower back and hips. The picture shows how to do the exercise, one can repeat this 10 times with each leg.

2. Lower back stretches:

This exercise targets your lower back by improving and restoring the flexibility of the joints and muscles. Lower back stretches are believed to bring instant relief from lower back pain, when performed daily. The picture explains the execution of the exercise.

3. Prone back extension:

This is one of the simplest flexibility exercises which benefits not only your back, but also your shoulders and hamstrings. This improves your posture and spinal health. The picture given shows the exact way of executing the exercise.

4. Hamstring stretches:

Tight hamstrings can lead to some serious problems anywhere between your head to toe. So hamstring stretches are really important and crucial. The picture shared here shows a great way of stretching your hamstrings. This exercise must be done few times a week.

5. Upper back:

If you are one of those people who travel or drive or ride for hours every day, well this is your answer to your upper back problem. This picture shows how the upper back should be relaxed by stretching it.

[ Read: Kegel Exercises Video for Women ]

6. Touch your toes:

This is probably one exercise we all must have done while in school, without realizing its importance back then. The ability to touch your toes, straight down and sideways, is really important for bending and for avoiding injuries. The picture illustrates the right way of doing this exercise.

7. Side-ward bend:

It is not just important to shape up your torso, but the sides of your torso too. Sideward bending stretches and shapes all the muscles that run along the sides of one’s torso. The picture shows the right posture and one must do this for better flexibility.

8. Ankle stretch:

Ankles should never be neglected. Our feet hold our entire body weight and hence, we must pay attention to ankle’s flexibility. This video illustrates great exercises for flexibility of the ankle. These improve the movement of your ankles and the flexibility of the muscles too.

[ Read: Floor Exercises for Women ]

9. Wrist stretches:

Wrist stretches also improve the flexibility and movement of your wrist. They also help in the flexibility of muscles across the wrist. The picture shows how to stretch one’s wrist for best results.

10. Chest and shoulder stretch:

This picture illustrates the stretch for the increased flexibility of your chest and shoulder. This exercise has even been proved great for relieving tension. So go ahead and try it.

11. Push Ups:

If you are targeting your shoulders, chest and abdomen together, push ups are just meant for you. Watch this wonderful video which very clearly explains the exact way of doing push ups. Following this floor exercise would surely result in a perfect torso.

12. Balancing:

If your incorrect posture concerns you, follow this video to not only build your core stability, but also to improve your posture. Balancing exercise even helps in stabilizing your hips and body alignment. A word of caution for pregnant ladies wanting to try this exercise, please follow the instructions carefully as shown in the video.

[ Read: Yoga for Stress ]

13. Side stretch on ball:

Side stretches really help in the body alignment and rectify the posture as well. Since this exercise is performed on a ball, extra caution must be taken for the back by holding the pelvic floor tight. The video shows how easily the side stretches can be done with the help of a ball.

Stretching exercises for flexibility are the best way to make sure that your body stays agile! Do try them and let us know how it worked for you.