Dynamic Stretching Exercises
In the first video we talked about the importance of doing dynamic stretching or movement before you work out and why not to do static stretching before any workout.
As shown in the video, start with these low intensity exercises with a broad range of motion.
Rotational Movements
- Head and neck rotations
- Trunk rotations
- Bent trunk rotation (spine straight)
- Arm and shoulder rotations
- Overhead Arm Swing (helps runners, who often have complaint of back, neck and shoulder issues)
- Cross extensions warm up – opposite leg and arm movement (this warms up the muscles used when running since you run with opposite arm movement from your legs.)
- Hip rotation – high knees
- High leg swing – straight leg (back straight) (don’t reach and touch, this puts strain on back)
- High leg – bent leg touching butt
- Hip hinge – squeezing with your butt muscles on the way up
Aerobic Movements:
- – Jumping jacks
- – Lunges to jumping lunges
- – Squats to jumping squats
- – Calf jumps.
Then touching the floor:
- Runners, then forward lunges above the hands
- Down dog to Cobra and return
- Cat / Camel – This movement will prolong the life of a healthy spine by hydrating the disks.
It’s important to remember that despite flexibility being associated with health, balance and stability is far more important than flexibility. See here how to build balance and proprioception (your sense of where you are in space)
