As the years go on your body can start to become stiff and less able to move. There is no need to worry, this an extremely common part of ageing and it’s something you should embrace rather than fear. These effects are especially apparent in those who participated in a lot of sports during young age. This is because the joints and muscles were heavily used, now after stopping, they struggle to maintain their flexibility and strength.
Our goal is to help you embrace old age. We are always looking for new ways in which we can assistant you as you get older and this blog post is a perfect example. We have put together a comprehensive upper body stretch routine to help you feel more flexible again.
Carefully Start By Stretching Your Neck
With most seniors experiencing some sort of problem with their neck it’s crucial that we start off here. Whilst this may be a part of the body you are hesitant to stretch, a slow and comfortable movement such as rolling can be a great way to improve the muscles movement and reduce the comfort you often feel.
1) Start by making a slow and steady head movement upwards to leave you looking at the roof.
2) Start to bring your head back down until your end up looking at your feet.
3) Now rotate your head slowly towards your left-hand side, go until you are looking at your left shoulder.
4) Bring your head back to a central position and then repeat the process until you are looking at your right shoulder.
5) To finish off this stretch make a small clockwise rolling action with your head. Repeat 3 – 5 times or to whatever point still feels comfortable.
Let’s Get Those Stiff Shoulders Working
Another extremely common part of your body to become stiff with old age is the shoulders. Luckily, with a regular bit of exercise and stretching, we are sure that you will be able to minimise any discomfort that you face leading to you feeling better day after day. This simple stretch is so easy anyone can do it!
1) Place your arms straight down towards the floor and keep your hands flat by your side.
2) Shrug your shoulders up towards the roof and start to bring them forward.
3) Control your shoulders on the way down to create a smooth rolling action.
4) Slowly bring your shoulders back and raise them back up towards the starting point.
5) Complete this rolling action for 3 – 5 times or to whatever point still feels comfortable.
To Finish The Routine Were Going To Work On The Back
Your back is an essential part of the overall strength of your upper body. Packed full of muscles this area of your body can also be very vulnerable to stiffness and pain. We have put together an easy back stretch that can help with any of the problems you may be facing.
1) Start by opening up your hands in a similar position as you were going to pick up a glass of water.
2) Place your hands-on just above your hip on either side and gently grip.
3) Start moving your pelvis forward with the support of your hands and let your back arch.
4) Whilst this arch is forming it can help to start looking up towards the roof.
5) Once you have reached a comfortable position you can start making your way back to a normal stance.
6) Repeat this stretch 3 – 5 times.
We recommend that you incorporate stretching into your daily routine as much as possible. It can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated when it comes to stretching but if you keep at it we are sure that the results will be felt in your physical and mental health going forward.
To complement our upper body stretch routine blog post we have also created a lower body specific routine. By paring the two blogs together you have a full stretch routine which will act as the perfect start or end to your day.