Five Stretches to get You Ready for the Day

One of the five major components of fitness is flexibility. Our joints need to move through their full, natural range of motion for our bodies to perform optimally. Interestingly enough, excessive repetitive movement as well as excessive inactivity and sitting can both lead to flexibility issues. The great news is that this joint dysfunction and the associated pain can be prevented by doing just a few minutes of simple flexibility work daily. Here are five quick stretches to get your day started off right:

Here's a breakdown of the stretches shown in the video:

• Lower Back Stretch #1 - Hug both knees up to your chest and hold.
• Lower Back Stretch #2 - Drop both knees to one side and press your opposite shoulder into the floor. Move your knees to the other side and do the same in that position.
• Hips (Hip flexor) Stretch - Sit up on your knees and put one leg out in front of you at about a 90 degree angle, then push your hips forward until you feel your hip muscle stretching and hold. Switch to your other leg and do the same.
• Hamstring Stretch - Sit up on your knees and put one leg straight out in front of you (with your foot on the ground). Lean forward until you feel your hamstring stretching and hold. Switch to the other leg and do the same.
• Chest Stretch - Place both hands behind your head with your elbows out and pull your elbows back to open up the chest.

Do each of these stretches for about 30 seconds to get your muscles ready for the day!

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