When completing evaluations, one of the most helpful things therapists can obtain is an accurate medical record. Knowing how patients were functioning before their admission can help us determine proper treatment courses. During evaluations, I always question patients about significant limb or joint tightness.
Tight muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints can decrease functional capability and increase pain. Worse, the longer you suffer from tightness, the more you become accustomed to the resulting limited function.
We don’t have to settle for decreased abilities when there are ample exercises that can help us regain flexibility.
6 Exercises to Maximize Strength and Flexibility
The following exercises can help you achieve the flexibility and limberness you want and need. While my patients tolerate them well, I suggest that you speak with your medical provider to ensure that they are right for you.1. Open-Book
My muscles tend to be tight, so I frequently use the open-book stretch to challenge myself. It’s very stable and provides an easily repeatable but deep stretch to the pectoral muscles.Step 1: Lie on your left side with your knees bent to 90 degrees. Extend the lower leg straight out so the upper leg is crossed over. Reach your arms straight out and place your palms together. Optionally, for comfort, you can place a pillow or yoga block beneath the shin of your crossed leg.
Step 2: Slowly swing your right arm up toward the ceiling with your elbow straight, moving it as far behind you as you can. Rotate your trunk to follow the movement, keeping your hand, eyes, and head aligned.
Step 3: Once you’ve moved as far as you can, hold for five seconds before returning to the starting position.
Step 4: Moving as far as you can and then back counts as one repetition. Try to perform 15 repetitions on each side per set.
Modifications: If your arm doesn’t move all the way over, just move it as far as you can. You will gain a greater stretch over time.
Why I Like It: The open book is a big, full stretch for your pectoral muscles. It also provides excellent spinal mobility.
2. 90/90 Stretch
The 90/90 stretch is a highly mobile hip exercise that provides a deep stretch on both sides at the same time.Step 1: Sit with your knees at 90 degrees and your heels on the floor.
Step 2: Rotate your lower body to the right until your legs touch the floor. Hold this position for about two to three seconds at first. Once you warm up, you can move into a continuous side-to-side movement.
Step 3: Rotate to the left and let your legs touch the floor on the other side.
Step 4: Touching your legs first on the right side and then the left side counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 15 repetitions.
Modifications: If you can’t bring your legs all the way to the ground, bring them over as far as you can and gently settle into the stretch.
Why I Like It: The 90/90 stretch relies on repetitive motions that provide stretching and warming of the joints and muscles at the same time.
3. World’s Greatest Stretch
Here I present the “world’s greatest stretch” for the world’s greatest readership. Given its name, you might expect a lot out of this exercise—and it delivers.Step 1: Begin in a standard pushup position or with your knees touching the ground. Step your left foot beside your left hand.
Step 2: Keeping your trunk straight, lift your left hand off the floor and reach your arm upward, keeping your elbow straight. Reach until your arm is pointing straight up or as high as you can. Follow the movement with your head.
Step 3: Return your arm and leg to the starting position. Reaching up and then returning to the starting position counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 12 repetitions. You can either perform all repetitions on one side and then the other, or alternate sides as you go—which requires some thought and fancy footwork. Either way works well.
Why I Like It: This is an excellent exercise—very stable and repeatable—and it provides a great stretch for multiple areas.
4. Goal-Post Chest Opener
I was working with a patient recently who had taken a fall at home that caused decreased range of motion in his arm. A quick examination indicated a rotator cuff tear—bad news. The cause? Preexisting tightness in his shoulders coupled with a fall that exceeded his flexibility.This exercise is an excellent way to strengthen and lengthen your rotator cuff muscles, which can help decrease your risk of injury, not only during falls, but during daily tasks as well.
Step 1: Stand with your arms in a “goal-post” position—upper arms straight out, elbows bent 90 degrees, and hands pointing straight forward.
Step 2: Keeping your arms in the goal-post position, rotate your shoulders until your hands are facing downward and hold for three seconds. Shrugging slightly as you move can help take the stress off your shoulders and enable you to move your hands further down. Moving your arms first up and then down counts as one set. Try to perform three sets of 12 repetitions.
Modifications: If moving all the way into either position is too much, just move as far as you comfortably can. The keyword here is comfort—avoid pushing into pain.
Why I Like It: The goal-post chest opener works the shoulder in both internal and external rotation movements, and packs a lot of motion into one exercise.
5. Chest-Opener Stretch
I perform this exercise several times per day. It’s great for stretching chest muscles, realigning your posture, and decreasing stress.Step 1: Stand upright and clasp your hands behind your back.
Step 2: Push your arms back while pushing your chest upward as far as you can. Hold the stretch for five seconds before releasing.
Step 3: Pushing into the stretch and then relaxing counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 10 repetitions.
Modifications: If you can’t clasp your hands together behind your back, you can hold onto a wooden spoon, ruler, towel, or belt behind your back and still get a good stretch.
Why I Like It: While modern technology, office jobs, and other activities conspire to tighten your chest muscles, the chest-opener exercise provides an effective and easily accessible stretch anywhere you may happen to be.
6. Seated Figure-4
The seated figure-four stretch is one of the most universal stretches on the planet. From the most out-of-shape people to the most highly trained, everybody gets a deep stretch from the figure-four—often accompanied by an expression of “Ahhh.”Step 1: Sit with your right leg crossed over your left, with your right ankle just over your left knee. Allow your right knee to relax down as far as it will go.
Step 2: Bend forward at the hips as far as you comfortably can without rounding your spine. Hold the movement for up to one minute or as long as you can. Try three one-minute stretches per side.
Why I Like It: Though it is a simple movement, the seated figure-four provides a deep stretch to the piriformis muscles and leaves you with noticeably greater flexibility.
Together, these exercises can bring a whole new world of flexibility for you. I suggest performing them at least three times per week, and preferably every day, to maintain as much flexibility as you can.
About the fitness model: Aerowenn Hunter is a health editor and fitness model for The Epoch Times. Vibrant in her 60s, she’s an accredited yoga therapist who has dedicated three decades to teaching yoga.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
