Everyone who stretched after the last workout raise your hand. Thought so.

It is funny, we all know that it is important to stretch after a workout but usually most of us are too busy leaving the gym that we can’t take just a few minutes to stretch and help our body to recover. Instead we rush out of the gym saying “I’ll stretch at home”. Which no one does. Ever.

Hence, you all lazy stretchers, I will introduce you five quick must-do post-workout stretches that will help you recover better and perform more efficiently the next day.

Hipflexor

Why: Think about in which position you spend most of your day. Sitting. In the car, at the office, on the couch. Sitting contracts hip flexor muscles into a shortened position, which can lead to not only pain in the hips and upper legs but also problems with full hip extension, not to mention lower back pain. And now think about which movements recruit hips? Ever heard your coach telling you to “open your hips” or “pop your hips”? You hear it when you squat, deadlift, clean, snatch, or do anything that involves a kipping motion. If you try to complete these movements with tight hips, your form can suffer during the movement and it could possibly lead to injury.

How: Take a wide lunge stance with right leg and drive the hip of your left leg across your body. Place your right hand on the floor and raise your left hand to enhance the stretch. Make sure your back is straight.

Hamstrings

Why: The hamstrings are an important part of your posterior chain. You need them too for heavy lifts like cleans, snatches, squats, deadlifts. Sometimes you can feel them when performing kipping pull ups, or even toes to bars. If they’re not functioning correctly because of inflexibility, the slack will be picked up by your quads and pelvis, which ultimately might lead to the famous “butt wink”, lower performance in general or even injury.

How: Lie on your back with one leg straight on the floor. Grab with your hands across your calf or ankle of your upward leg and pull back as you keep it straight. Laying down will help eliminate the pelvic tilt. If your range of motion is not quite there yet, use a rubber band to pull your leg back.

Spine

Why: Did you know that you should move your spine to six different directions in a day? If you think about it, usually you move only in two directions during a day. Forward and backward. The importance of spine mobility can easily be overlooked, yet your back is recruited in every single movement that you do during the day. A healthy back helps maintaining right posture, ensuring proper form during heavy lifts as well as efficiency with twisting and rotational movements.

How: Lie on your back with your legs on the floor and arms extended straight. Bent and roll your right leg toward your left side and turn your head to the right side. Keep the lower leg straight. Extend your arms out to both sides at shoulder height and make sure you keep your shoulder blades down. You can also straighten the upper leg if you want to enhance the twist.

Wrists

Why: Lifting heavy weights or holding a handstand position can create a lot of stress and tension on the wrists. That combined with working in front of a computer all day and a lack of attention to the flexibility of the joint can quickly lead to poor wrist mobility. In other words, this means for example inability to get into proper front rack position, thereby limiting your capability to catch a clean or perform any kind of presses, increasing the risk of some damage and even injury.

How: Kneel on the floor. Place the backs of your hands on the floor in front of your knees. Sit back onto your heels as you keep your arms locked straight to stretch your wrists. Hold it for 30 seconds, repeat twice per side. Then turn your palms on the floor and repeat. This should also give a nice stretch to forearms as well.

Tricep

Why: All the movements that require some kind of press, shoulder press, push press, bench press as well as push ups, overhead squats, jerks, they all demand extended arms that will recruit the triceps. If your triceps are tight, it will hinder you performing the movement properly.

How: Kneel in front of a low chair, box or other low and sturdy object. Place your elbows on the chair, lean forward and bring your elbows above your head to rest on the edge of the chair. Bend your elbows and extend your arms beyond your head so that your elbows are the only part of you touching the chair. As you get into position, use the chair and floor to support yourself so you don’t strain your lower back. This should give nice stretch not only to the triceps but also to lads. If you can’t make it feel in the triceps, keep elbows in their place and try placing your hands at the back of your neck.

After a workout, hold all the stretches for 30-60 seconds per side. If you have time, repeat them 2-3 times each side.
You can perform these stretches also before the workout as dynamic stretches. Then you just change the stretch time to max 10 seconds and repetitions to 5 each side.

If you have been struggling to hold on to a regular stretching routine, this could be just for you. Only about ten minutes a day and you will make your body thank you. Of course, it will be a good idea to add other stretches to the routine to match your personal needs.

Remember, one reason we love CrossFit are the functional movements where you will need a full range of motion throughout your body. In order to perform well, to stay healthy and prevent any potential injuries, sacrificing a few minutes for stretching will do amazing things for your body.

So today, after the WOD, will you join me for a stretching session?