You may be eager to get started on your walk – perhaps the weather’s inviting or you have chores to hurry back to – but taking the time for before and after stretches for your walking should be a priority.
“Stretching before you walk helps decrease the chance of injury, increases your performance during your walk and decreases muscle soreness after you walk,” says Don Lein, a physical therapist at the University of Alabama’s Spain Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham. Feeling inflexible and unsure how to stretch properly? Here are some guidelines for stretching, walking, and then stretching again.
Start by warming up for a few minutes – try walking slowly and gently swinging your arms – and then follow up by doing these stretches for walking, says Shannon Mescher, an exercise physiologist and Arthritis Foundation consultant. Try to hold each position (rather than bouncing) for 10 to 60 seconds, or after you feel a gentle stretch or tension. Hold onto a chair, light pole or other stable object for balance.
HAMSTRING AND ANKLE
Sit on the edge of a chair with your right leg extended, right heel on floor. Flex right foot and toes. Lean forward gently from your hips to feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Repeat with left leg.
CALF STRETCH
Stand up straight, holding onto a chair. Put left leg behind you, keeping left heel on the floor. Bend right knee and lean toward the chair. You should feel the stretch in the calf of the left leg. Repeat with right leg.
GROIN STRETCH
Stand with legs slightly wider than shoulder width and hold onto a chair. With left foot facing forward, point right foot to right 45 degrees then lunge in that direction without letting knee go past toes. Repeat move on left side.
LEG SWINGS
Stand up straight, holding onto a chair with your left hand for support. Standing to the side of the chair on your left leg, move your right leg to the front, side and back, tapping your toe at each point. Repeat with left leg.
Remember: you should be stretching, walking, and then stretching again.
