Fitness: Stretches

Stretching is a way to get your body ready for exercise, improve flexibility, and increase your range of motion. Proper stretching will help your muscles feel relaxed and prevent muscle related injuries. Try the following static stretches (meaning that you will not be moving around for the stretch) demonstrated by our Peer Leaders. For each stretch, hold for 30 seconds at a time. Make sure you go into the stretch slowly and hold the position when you start to feel some tension in the muscle. If you feel pain, stop immediately- this means you may be stretching the muscle too far. Check out the My Muscles guide to see which muscles you will be stretching using these exercises.

Other great ways to stretch include dynamic stretching (a movement-based type of stretching) and foam rolling using a foam roller!

Upper Body Stretches

Lower Body Stretches

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