Stretching after a workout is very important to avoid tightness and muscle pain. Give these stretching exercises a try, especially if your hips are tight after your workout.
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#1 – Full Body Opener
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips and legs. Tighten your core, then bend your knees, hinging through the hips and dropping your head and hands toward the ground slowly. Straighten your legs and raise back up, lifting your arms overhead. Repeat the movement.
Full Body Opener
#2 – Spider-Mans
Begin in a four-point position, with your knees below your hips and your hands beneath your shoulders. Take a big step forward toward your hand with one foot. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. To intensify the stretch, you can extend the opposite arm overhead. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Raise back up and repeat Exercise #1.
Spider-Mans
#3 – Quad Roll
Begin in an upright standing position, placing your hands on your hips. Contract your core and take a big step back with one leg. Bend your front knee and hinge through your hips to move into a deep squat, extending your opposite leg back. Position the foam roller just above your knee, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders and hips. Run the foam roller from the top of your knee to your hip area and back. Raise back up and repeat the movement with your opposite leg.
Quad Roll
Alternative Exercise:
Begin in an upright standing position, placing your hands on your hips. Contract your core and take a big step back with one leg. Bend your front knee and hinge through your hips to move into a deep squat, extending your opposite leg back. Position the foam roller just above your knee, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders and hips. Tighten your core and extend the opposite arm overhead, bending your upper body to one side. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Raise up and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Alternative Exercise
#4 – Sun Salutations
4A – Upward Salute
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips and legs. Contract your core and extend your arms overhead, arching your back and focusing on the stretch happening in your low back area. Relax and return to the starting position.
4A – Upward Salute
4B – High Lunge
Begin in an upright standing position, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips and legs. Take a big step back with one leg, keeping your toes pointing straight ahead. Bend your front knee and straighten your back leg. Tighten up your abdominal area and shift your hips forward, extending your arms overhead. Relax and return to the starting position.
4B – High Lunge
4C – Warrior II
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet considerably wider than shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment in your upper body. Bend one knee and pivot your foot so that your toes are pointing out to the side, ideally at a 45-degree angle. Contract your core and extend your arms out to the sides at shoulder-height. Relax and return to the starting position.
4C – Warrior II
4D – Wide-legged Forward Fold
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet considerably wider than shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment in your upper body. Contract your abdominal muscles and hinge through your hips, bending until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Drop your hands to the ground or out to your feet. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Relax and return to the starting position. To intensify the stretch, you can move your hips from side to side.
4D – Wide-legged Forward Fold
4E – Yogi Squat
Begin in an upright standing position with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, maintaining proper alignment in your upper body. Bend your knees and hinge through your hips to move into a deep squat. Lower your hips to the floor, bringing your hands on the ground. Go as deep as you can while evenly distributing your weight on both heels. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Relax and return to the starting position. To intensify the stretch, you can shift your weight from one foot to the other.
4E – Yogi Squat
4F – Warrior I
Begin in an upright standing position, maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders, hips and legs. Take a big step forward with one leg, keeping your toes pointing straight ahead. Bend your front knee and straighten your back leg. Tighten up your abdominal area and shift your hips forward, either extending your arms overhead or placing them on your hips. Hold this position for a couple of seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
4F – Warrior I
#5 – Child’s Pose
Begin in a four-point position, with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Tighten your abdominal area. Shift your hips back to your feet while extending both arms out front. Drop your head to the floor, relaxing your midback area for a light stretch. Take a couple of deep belly breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Return to the starting position.
Child’s Pose
#6 – Pigeon Pose
Begin in a four-point position, with your knees below your hips and your hands beneath your shoulders. Bring one knee up and across the opposite side, then lean your upper body against the same leg. Hold the position for a couple of seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Pigeon Pose
#7 – Half-spinal Twist
Begin in an upright sitting position, crossing your legs in front of your body and maintaining proper alignment with your head, shoulders and hips. Bend one knee up toward your chest, place your foot across your opposite knee and lean on your other hand for support. Engage your core and twist your upper body to one side. Pull your knee closer to your body to intensify the stretch and hold this position for a couple of seconds. Return to the starting position slowly and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Repeat Exercise 4E and Exercise 1
Half-spinal Twist
Give these post-workout stretches a try and see if your hips feel better than before doing these types of stretches.
Looking for more stretches to help eliminate pain and tightness? Make sure to check out 11 Daily Stretches to Feel and Look Amazing, here!
