Stretching the Back

In one of our articles, we have confirmed a well-known fact regarding the necessity of stretching. Today we suggest one more block of exercises for stretching.

It’s important to remember that each position should be held for at least 10 seconds. The stretch itself should be comfortable and should not be painful.

In photo 1, stretching of the greater pectoral muscle is shown. Let’s try to list the basic movements of the exercise.

The starting position begins by sitting on a chair (you may do it standing as well), the arms are raised upwards, the thumbs of both palms are directed backwards, and the elbow joints are slightly above the shoulder line. The stretch consists of drawing the arms backwards as far as possible.

At the appropriate stretching point, you should feel the upper part of the thorax being stretched. This wouldn’t occur if the technique was incorrect; that’s why it’s important to try to avoid the following mistakes: excessive caving in the waist, dropping the elbows to shoulder level or lower, thumbs forward, or protrusion of the belly.

In photo 2, stretching of the upper part of the back is shown. The stretch is completed by joining the arms in front of the body, rounding the back, and dropping the chin to the breast. This is followed by a forward stretch of the arms and simultaneous stretch backwards with the back. The muscles between the shoulder blades are stretched in this manner.

A stretch for the broadest muscle of the back is shown in photo 3. From a sitting position, round the back and stretch the arms forward; hold the left wrist with the right hand and stretch the left arm up and to the right. It should be level with the forehead or slightly above. Repeat the same steps with the other arm, directing it to the opposite side.

When completing the exercise, the following mistakes are often made:

• the arm and body turn together;
• the shoulder of the stretched arm rises upwards instead of being fixed in position.

As a conclusion, it’s necessary to stretch the back coupling muscles (photo 4). While sitting on a chair, lower yourself and embrace the knees with the arms; the further you join your hands, the more effective the stretch is. Simultaneously round your back and try to stretch with the waist up to the ceiling.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4