Stretching the shoulders, back and neck

Stretching the shoulders, back and neck

Whether as a warm-up or as a warm-down after your session, these stretching exercise will do a world of good to the muscles of your shoulders, back and neck. You can even do them on a daily basis, to eliminate tension due to stress! After warming up or at the end of a session, it is recommended that you take some time to stretch your muscles. Here are a few stretching exercises to take care of your back, neck and shoulder muscles. If you power-walk while paying attention to the movement of your arms, you can put a lot of strain on your back, neck and shoulder muscles. In an article on the correct posture to adopt, we will also discuss potential pain felt in these muscles that you no longer used or used very little before taking up or resuming power-walking. These stretching exercises will do a world of good in eliminating tension. They are to be carried out during and after your power-walking session, while breathing deeply. You can even do them on a daily basis, to eliminate tension due to stress!

Stretching the shoulders

To perform this stretching exercise: cross your right arm in front of you, at shoulder height. Take your elbow with your left hand. While pulling to the left, across your chest, breathe deeply.

Hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Repeat twice for each shoulder.

Be careful to not pull too hard, and to carry out the movement smoothly.

Stretching the back

Having a flexible back is just as important for painlessly carrying out each movement for power-walking, as it is for your everyday health.

Exercise 1:

With crossed feet, raise your arms above your head whilst interlocking your fingers. With the palms of your hands facing up, lean your chest towards the right for 30 seconds and breathe deeply.

Slowly bring your chest and hands back to the centre, aligned with your legs, and stretch to the other side, for 30 seconds.

Exercise 2:

The following exercise is made up of 3 phases, paced by your breathing, and needs you to be able to lean against a tree, or a bench.

First, with your feet together, lift your arms as high as possible as you breathe in. You will feel your spinal column stretch out as you extend your arms.

Stretching the neck

With your feet a shoulder-width apart, and your back straight: place your left arm on your back and grasp this arm by the wrist with your right hand. Slowly pull towards the right, so that you are stretched, and hold the position for 15 seconds whilst continuing to breathe through the stomach.