Prevention Australia – June – July 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Add a resistance band to

your stretch routine and

you’ll start to feel your

deepest muscles engage

without placing a lot of

stress on your joints.

CHEST OPENER

Stand with your arms hanging in front of your

thighs, holding a resistance band between your

hands, which are slightly more than shoulder width

apart. Keeping your arms straight, raise your arms

in an arc overhead and back behind you. Pause,

then slowly reverse the movement to a starting

position. Continue for 30 seconds.

CALF STRETCH

Stand about 60cm away from a wall, facing it

in a staggered stance, one foot in front of the

other. Keeping your back heel down, place your

hands on the wall and lean against it. Hold

for 30 seconds, then switch legs and repeat.

Stretch each leg twice.

HAMSTRING STRETCH

Lie on your back with your knees bent and

your feet lat on the loor, holding one end of a

resistance band in each hand. Draw one knee

toward your chest and place the middle of the

strap around the arch of your foot. Extend your leg

toward the ceiling, holding for 30 seconds. Repeat

with the other leg. Stretch each leg twice.

Home stretch

Short on time? These ive exercises are all it takes to stay lex-

ible – and all you need is 10 minutes three times a week

BY JENNA BERGEN SOUTHERLAND, PREVENTION FITNESS DIRECTOR

W

hen you’re crunched for time,

stretching is often the first part of

your workout that gets discarded.

Then months after ignoring your

hamstrings, you bend over to tie your shoes and

your feet suddenly seem miles away. The good

news: you can loosen up, increase your flexibility,

and maximise your mobility by building up to

10 minutes of stretching a few times a week. Not

only will it feel great – and help you move through

life with more ease – you’ll be less likely to need

that ibuprofen. When men and women with

chronic lower back pain stretched at home at least

three times a week, they reported a significant

decrease in pain levels in just 12 weeks, according

to a study published in the Archives of Internal

Medicine. Plus, it’s a major stress reliever.

Here are a few stretches to get you started.

32 PREVENTIONAUS.COM.AU