17 Easy Stretches You Can Do to Lose Weight FAST!

Went to the gym for the first time? Slept Weird? Danced in heels? We've got you covered!

21 March, 2018
17 Easy Stretches You Can Do to Lose Weight FAST!

[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz5sjFLmv7Y" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="">

Sometimes your body just can't catch a break. So get some sweet relief with these stretches from Cassey Ho, YouTube fitness star and founder of 24-Hour Fitness's Popilates fitness class.

After Spending a Million Hours at Your Computer

Your wrists and chest are tight AF, but these stretches can help:

1. Wrist Twist

Extend both arms out in front of you and make fists with your hands. Rotate your fists in toward each other and continue for as long as you'd like. Then switch directions.

2. Chest Opener

Stand up straight and open your arms out to the sides. Turn your palms to face forward and press them back. Then turn your palms to face backward and repeat. Continue to alternate.

3. Forearm Stretch

Extend both arms out in front of you and turn your left fingertips down with the palm facing away from you. With your right hand, grab the left fingertips and pull them toward your body. Turn your left palm to face the body, then repeat. Repeat the stretch on the opposite side.

After Sleeping Weird

Your neck and back are seriously hurting. Iron out the kinks with these stretches:

4. Neck Tilt

Stand up straight and reach your left hand overhead, placing the palm on the right side of the head. Gently pull your head to the left shoulder and hold. Switch sides and repeat.

5. Twisted Triangle

Take a wide stance with feet turned slightly outward and your knees locked. Extend both arms straight out to the sides. Bend from the waist to touch you right fingertips to your right toes. Hold as long as you'd like, then bend to the opposite side.

6. Cat Cow

Get on all fours with your knees under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders. Arch your back, and let your head drop as you tuck your tailbone under (cat). Then let your belly drop and stick your tailbone out as you open your chest and bring your gaze upward (cow). Continue to alternate between cat and cow at your own pace.

After Watching 5 Straight Hours of TV

Your hips are tight, and your legs and butt are asleep. Get the blood flowing with these stretches:

7. Pigeon

Take a low lunge with your right foot forward, and place both palms on the ground framing your foot. Drop the back knee to the floor. Sweep your right foot through the legs and place the outside of the right calf against the floor, keeping the calf parallel to your hips and hips square to the ground.

8. Long Lunges

Take a large step forward with your right foot and bend only your right knee to come into a low lunge, placing your left palm on the ground for support. Keeping your right knee behind your right toes, gently bend the left knee, hold, then straighten the left leg. Continue to bend and straighten the back leg slowly for as long as you'd like, then switch legs.

9. Hip Opener

Get into a plank position and pike your hips up into downward facing dog position. Keeping your hips square to the ground, bend right knee and stretch your right heel overhead toward your right left shoulder. Hold, then repeat on the opposite side.

After Dancing in Heels All Night

Your calves and hamstrings are killing you.

10. Figure-4 Glutes Stretch

Lie on your back with your arms along your sides, your knees bent, and the soles of your feet on the floor near your butt. Place your left ankle over your right leg, just below the knee. With both hands, grasp your right thigh and bend your elbows to gently pull your right knee in toward your chest. (You should feel it in your left hip.) Repeat on the opposite side.​

11. Calf Reach

Lie on your back with your legs outstretched. Keeping them as straight as possible, lift the right leg straight up and point the toe as you reach around your calf with both hands and pull your leg toward your chest. Hold, then switch legs.

12. Calf Stretch

Face a tree (or step or wall) and stand an arms-length away from it. Place your right toes against the trunk with your right heel a few inches from the base. Lock your right knee and bend from the waist, reaching both arms toward the lifted toes. Hold, then repeat on the opposite side.

After Going to the Gym for the First Time in Forever

13. Upward-Facing Dog

Lie face down on a mat with your legs outstretched and tops of your feet pressed against the ground. Place your palms beneath your shoulders and extend the elbows to raise your upper body, lifting your hips off the ground. Lean back to deepen the stretch.

14. Quad Stretch

Stand up straight with knees together and bring your right heel to your butt, using your right hand to grab your right toes. Press the right hip forward to deepen the stretch, keeping your knee pointing downward the whole time. Hold for as long as you'd like, then switch legs.

15. Cross-Body Arm Stretch

Standing up straight, cross your right arm across your chest. Bend your left elbow to bring your left hand toward your shoulder and deepen the stretch in your right triceps. Hold as long as you'd like, then repeat on the opposite side.

16. IT Band Stretch

Lie on your back with your legs outstretched and raise your right leg straight up in the air. Extend your right arm out to the side and place it on the floor as you press your left hand against the outside of your right calf to bring the leg across the body to the left, keeping your left hip grounded. Hold, then repeat on the opposite side.

17. Overhead Triceps Stretch

Bend your left elbow and bring it up beside your head, letting your left hand reach down the back. With your right hand, gently pull the left elbow backward. Hold, then repeat on the opposite side.

Follow Elizabeth on Twitter and Instagram.

Credit: Cosmopolitan
Comment