Not only is it enjoyable to stretch, but it is IMPORTANT to stretch. Keep your body long, lean and protected against injuries by taking the time to stretch.

Let me start by showing you a few upper body stretches that are easy to do and fairly self- explanatory.

On the bottom left I am stretching my mid and rear shoulder muscle. Actively pull the straight arm as far back as you can. Be sure to switch arms.

On the bottom right I am stretching the front of my shoulders and chest muscles. With both stretches I am consciously breathing into the tension and making sure I can feel a gentle tug in the desired area.

The next 2 stretches I am going to show you will also stretch your shoulders, but mainly your chest muscles.

On the bottom left I am holding on to something stable behind me while I lean my body forward. Notice my feet are placed a bit behind me as well. My chest is pushing forward, in front of everything else. On the right bottom I am isolating my shoulder and chest muscle one side at a time. Notice how I am twisting my torso away from my arm. This allows me to really take the stretch deeper. Be sure to switch sides.

Chest and Shoulder Stretch

Isolated Chest and Shoulder Stretch

The next two stretches are practically impossible to do wrong, just be sure you go slow and ease into them.

On the bottom left I am stretching my tricep muscle. the tricep muscle takes up a huge portion of your arm so you want to make plenty of effort when working it out and therefore, stretching it !

On the bottom right I am stretching my bicep muscle and my forearms. You will be surprised how much tension and tightness you can hold in your forearms. Try to really press your entire hand into the floor, while staying seated on your feet.

Tricep Stretch

Bicep and Forearm Stretch

I already have shown you some stretches for your low back, so now I want to show stretches for your latissimus, rhomboids, and trapezoids.

The first one on the bottom left is for your upper back muscles such as your traps and rhomboids. It can be tricky to get right, but once you do it is tremendously effective. Kneel down, grab your heels, put your forehead as close to your knees as possible. While still holding on to your heels, start to lift your butt up as high as you can while keeping forehead on knees. You should feel the crown of your head resting on the floor. Arms should be straight in full extension.

On the bottom right I am stretching my Latissimus Dorsi muscles. Do this by gripping something stable and leaning your weight back away from it. Keep a slight bend in your knees, but keep your arms straight. Tuck your head down by keeping chin on chest. Really sink your weight back behind you until you feel the pull and tension run up the sides of your back.

Upper Back Stretch

Latissimus Stretch

The first one featured is for the hip flexor muscle. The hip flexor muscle is made up of three other muscles… your rectus femoris(green), psoas major(blue), and illiacus(red).

The hip flexor is SO important to stretch. Most peoples' hip flexors are very tight because they are constantly being overused and over contracted due to our "sitting society". The hip flexor muscles are highly activated in a seated position.

Study the picture below. Begin in a kneeling lunge on the floor and really push your hips forward while keeping your upper body upright and drawn back. Raise the arm of the leg that is in back. Keep that arm back by your ear. In the picture below I am feeling the stretch in my right hip flexor.To make this a little deeper, lean back more with your upper body, and pull your arm(while keeping it straight) back farther and really PUSH your hips farther FORWARD. Hold for 30 sec- 5 minutes and be sure to switch sides.

Hip Flexor Stretch

As a Scottsdale personal trainer, I find that the muscle that gets the least amount of "love" is the inner thigh(adductor). Many people have no idea how tight this muscle is until they actually stretch it. This muscle is easy to stretch it and is very relaxing to do so.

Below is the butterfly stretch. Connect your feet together as close as possible and draw them in close to your body. Simply hold this for 30 sec- 5 min. DO NOT BOUNCE! If you want to feel this stretch deeper then lean your chest forward over your legs.

Butterfly Inner Thigh Stretch

As a runner, my achilles tendon can get very tight. I stretch this area for a good long time, knowing how crucial it is for me. This is a difficult area to really hone in on... you may have to shift and finagle with it a bit until you find the sweet spot for you.

In the picture below I am feeling the stretch in the achilles of the back leg. Keep both of your heels down on the floor, but especially your back heel. Push your hips forward towards the floor, BUT keep most of your weight on the back foot( KEEP YOUR HEEL DOWN). Hold for 30 sec-5 minutes each side.

Achilles Heel Stretch

As a Scottsdale personal trainer, I preach about this pose so much because I absolutely love it. It stretches out so many muscles, but especially your calves. It is called Downward Facing Dog. The key to this pose is two part... 1) Keep heels as close to the floor as possible. Dig them into the ground if you can and 2) actively push your chest towards your quadriceps(front of your leg). Be sure to keep your legs and arms as straight as possible. Relax your head by letting your chin drop to your chest. You will feel down the entire back side of your body, but also your calves.

Downward Facing Dog