- Lateral Side Flexion of the Neck
Muscles Emphasized: Sternocleidomastoid “SCM”
Extend the neck as much as possible and drop the ear to your shoulder very slowly. Make sure that you are not collapsing your cervical spine! You can additionally develop and advance this stretch by sitting on a chair and holding onto the bottom of the seat. By doing so, you will make the tension down the arm and neck more consistent, which in turn targets the upper traps.
Muscles Emphasized: Sternocleidomastoid “SCM”
First, rotate the neck slowly, while keeping the chin a bit elevated in to isolate the SCM. If you want more advanced stretch, apply pressure with the opposite hand from the direction you are rotating.
Muscles Emphasized: Sternocleidomastoid “SCM”
Put the hands on your hips while keeping the spine long. Start to tilt your head back, making sure that you are not collapsing the cervical spine.
- Lateral Side Flexion of the Neck with Hand Assistance
Muscles Emphasized: Sternocleidomastoid “SCM” and Upper Trapezius
Extend the neck as much as you can while dropping the ear to your shoulder. Again, make sure you are not collapsing the cervical spine. You can advance this stretch by sitting on a chair and holding onto the bottom of the seat. By doing so, you will create tension down the arm and neck, which in turn targets the upper traps.
- Half Kneeling Quad / Hip Flexor Stretch
Muscles Emphasized: Psoas and Quadriceps
Start in a half-kneeling position and bring the right hip forward. You should feel a stretch in the fron of the hip while doing this. Then, take the back foot and squeeze the back glute so that you add to the stretch on the hip flexors.
Muscles Emphasized: Forearm Extensor
Pack your shoulder and back down. Then, rotate the shoulder towards outside in order to get into optimal position to stretch the forearm muscle. Once you come into this position, apply pressure on the opposing hand to start the stretch. Feel free to advance the stretch by touching the tips of the fingers together, in the shape of a tea cup.
The text continues on the next page…
