Stretches for tight spots in your body

Take a second right now to evaluate how you are sitting while reading this post. Are you sitting at a desk slouching in your chair? Are you giving yourself “text neck” while reading this on your subway ride home?

We’ll give you a second to adjust your posture.

Welcome back. We spend the majority of the day not using our muscles and sitting in positions that our body was not designed to maintain for a long period of time. (Editor’s note: As I write this post I’m slouching in my chair and my arms are positioned in a way that would probably give an ergonomics expert nightmares. I, too, needed to adjust my posture sometimes.)

We can’t always change our work situation, but we do a few things to help reverse some of the negative effects of sitting all day. Stretching in particular is great for helping our bodies after a long day of sitting. Stretching lengthens your muscles and allows you to use them at their full capacity. It helps to increase blood flow to our muscles, improve physical performance, decrease the risk of injury, and enables our muscles to work efficiently.

If you’re feeling tight in certain places, this article from Greatist shows 15 stretches to help relieve tension in your muscles.

Here are the stretches:

1. Neck – the neck becomes tight because of a lack of movement while we sleep. Working at a desk all day can contribute to the tightness because we are constantly pulled forward so the neck and back are slouched for hours at a time.Stretch it out: sit with your back straight and place your right hand on the right shoulder. Place your left hand on the right side of your head and tilt it to the left. Don’t pull on your head, use your bodyweight to stretch it out. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat on the other side.

2. Shoulders – your shoulders will get tight if they are consistently held in a poor position. This can lead to loss of range of motion.Stretch it out: stand tall and squeeze your shoulder blades together as hard as you can. Hold for three seconds and then release. Repeat 12 times.
3. Triceps – triceps start to feel tight because of a muscle imbalance. They are generally weaker than the muscles opposite of them (the biceps). Because they are not worked every day and when you do work them they will feel uncomfortably tight.Stretch it out: reach your arm over your head, bend at the elbow, and place your left hand on the front of the right elbow. Gently pull your right elbow back and down until you feel the stretch. Hold for 10 seconds, release, and repeat on the other side.
4. Forearms – you probably don’t realize how often you use your forearms. You use them to carry things, when you’re typing, or while you’re using your phone.Stretch it out: start with your arms out to the side. Bend your elbows and cross your right arm in front of your left arm in front of your chest. Wrap your right wrist behind your left so your arms are wrapped twice and your palms are touching one another. Hold for 10 seconds, release, and switch arms.
5. Wrists – grip strength starts in the wrist. If you want to lift heavier weights at the gym you need to develop your grip strength. However, working on grip strength can potentially cause tightness in your wrist.Stretch it out: reach your right hand out in front of you so it is parallel to the ground. Flex your wrist back with your fingers pointing towards the ceiling and your palms facing forward. Spread your fingers wide and gentle pull back on your thumb with your left hand. Hold for a few seconds. Move on to each finger and hold for a few seconds on each finger.
6. Back – almost every movement affects the back, which is why so many people report back pain. We need to keep it strong in order to keep it pain-free.Stretch it out: stand with your feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips, and slowly lean back until you feel the stretch in your lower back. Hold for three seconds and release. Repeat this stretch 12 times
7. Abdominals – we use our core for everything from lifting and squatting to picking things up. Most of us probably feel like our abs are tight after we workout.Stretch it out: Lie face down, bend your elbows, and place your palms on the floor next to your chest. Point your toes and press the tops of your feet into the floor. Press your chest up as you straighten your arms and lift your thighs and knees off the floor. Keep your chest open and look up.
8. Glutes – your glutes help you walk, run, and jump. They’re used for so many things it’s no wonder how easily they can get tight.Stretch it out: lie face up and bend both knees so they are resting flat on the floor in front of you. Bring your right leg up off the ground and cross it over your left leg so your ankle is resting on your knee. Reach your hand though the gap your bent leg and grab the back of your left thigh, lift, and pull the leg towards your chest. Hold for 10 seconds and switch legs.
9. Hip flexors – these are the muscles that help your legs move when you’re walking, running, cycling, and more. Sitting at a desk all day contributes to their tightness because they are dormant and shortened. When they get tight, cramp, and pull on our lower backs.Stretch it out: start on all fours. Step your right foot forward between your hands and lengthen the left leg back, placing the left shin and top of the left foot on the floor. Let your hips fall to the floor as you lunge into the front knee and bend back, opening up through the chest with your arms extended overhead. Hold for 10 seconds and then switch sides.
10. Quads – your quads work overtime when the rest of your posterior chain isn’t working properly. Not properly stretching your quads can lead to tightness and soreness.Stretch it out: stand tall and lift your right leg behind you bending at the knee. Catch your right foot with your right hand. Keep your knee pointing down and have your knees as close together as possible. Pull your right heel into your glutes. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat on the other side. If you’re having trouble balancing use the back of a chair or the wall for help.
11. Inner thighs – let’s be honest, when as the last time you thought about stretching your inner thighs? They’re not the most used muscle group, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get tight. Tightness in your inner thighs can create muscle imbalances.Stretch it out: sit with your legs extended straight out in front of you. Spread them as wide as you can, sitting equally on both sit bones. Flex your toes up to the ceiling, sit up straight, and begin walking your hands out in front of you as far as possible. You’ll want to focus on keeping your back straight more than how far you can walk your hands out.
12. Hamstrings – these are powerful muscles that are easy to pull. Your glutes and hamstrings work closely together and if the glutes are weak they can overload our hamstrings.Stretch it out: stand with your feet together. Step your right foot back about two feet behind the left. Bend forward from the hip joint keeping you back and both legs straight. Place your hands on your hips or gently on your shin. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides.
13. Calves – if your calf muscles are tight it shouldn’t be a surprise. They are one of the most worked muscle groups, especially if you are constantly on your feet.Stretch it out: stand a slightly less than arm’s distance away from a wall. Keep your feet parallel while you step your right foot forward until your toes touch the wall in front of you. Bend your right knee and lean forward to place your hands on the wall. Keep your back leg straight. Press your feet into the ground. Hold for 30 seconds and switch legs.
14. Achilles/Ankle – the Achilles tendon is a small, but strong tendon. When we overuse it and constantly stretch the Achilles tendon, it makes our upper calf and glutes inefficient.Stretch it out: stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step your right foot forward about two feet and plant your foot firmly on the ground. Lift the toes on your right foot toward the ceiling and dig your heel into the ground.
15. Feet – did you know each foot has 20 muscles in it? It easy to neglect out feet and strain them, but they need a little TLC when they’re tight.Stretch it out: kneel on the floor then sit back onto your legs. Open your legs wide, pushing your feet out to the sides. Sit between your heels, leaning as far back as possible. Hold for 30 seconds. If you can’t lean all the way back, sit upright and keep your back straight.

The original article on Greatist has advanced stretches for each area listed above. Click here for the original article.