Stretching - Lower Limbs

Let's start our stretching session from lower down the body that is the lower limbs. I am only going to consider the important muscles which are: hamstrings(muscle at the back of the thigh), quadriceps(front thigh), gastonemius(calf muscle).

Hamstrings:
This is the muscle which often gets injured.To stretch it lie on the back, supporting the thigh behind the knee with the hand or with a towel, slowly straighten the knee until a stretch is felt in the back of the thigh, trying to get the bottom of the foot to face the ceiling, one leg at a time . Hold the position initially for 10 seconds, and gradually work up to 20-30 seconds.

Quadriceps:
For the quads stand on one leg while holding the other leg behind . Pull foot toward thigh and buttock. Hold for six seconds, then relax for five seconds. Change to opposite side and do exercise with other leg. Repeat twice for each leg.




Gastronemius:
Stand in a walking position with one leg stretched straight behind you and the other leg bent in front of you. Using a wall or chair for support, lean forward and down until you feel the stretch in your back calf. make sure that both feet are pointing straight ahead and that your heels stay on the floor the whole time.

Make sure that you hold the stretch position for 15 to 20 minutes for effective stretch. In the next post i will tell you about the stretching of arms and the shoulder.