3 Stretches for Your Spine

Stretch exercises, also called flexibility routines, improve the range of movement your body can tolerate. You know you have great flexibility when you can stretch the full range of a veteran ballerina or a seasoned gymnast. But of course, you don’t have to be one to get great flexibility. Check with your personal trainer in Glenview if you live there and he will design a progressive training regimen to extend your range of movement.

One major body part that benefits your body the most with stretch routines is your spine.  Not only do you get the right posture that enhances your height and prevent back pains, stretch exercises for your spine enhance your torso’s ability to support the range of motions of your limbs as well. A golf swing, for instance, which benefits from shoulder and arm strength, also benefits from a body twist that a flexible spine can support. Here are three spine stretching exercises that you can do.

Basic Cat Exercise

Check with your Glenview personal trainers and they will agree that this is the simplest and gentlest stretch for your back. It mimics what cats do after waking up. Simply get on the ground on all fours and align your hands under your shoulders with your knees under your hips. Arch your back up with your face looking on the floor and inhale, and then arch in reverse with your navel closer to the floor and your face facing forward and exhale. Hold for a few seconds in each position, and repeat.

Floor Stretches

Lie flat on the floor with your neck supported on a pillow. Raise one knee at a time as far as it can to your chest with both hands around it. Hold it there for about half a minute and do the same for the other knee. Repeat it a couple of times, and then do the same knee bending to your chest for both feet.

Low Back Stretching

Start by lying on your stomach and assume a position like you would be doing push-ups. With your arms bent and hands under your stomach, push yourself up until the hands are straight but with your lower half of your body resting on the floor. This arches your back and benefits the tissues lining your lumbar column or lower back. Hold for a few seconds and repeat.