SLCs22w1: "Staying fit / Stretching".

I did this by tilting my neck to both side of my shoulders. First to the left and crossing my arm to the head and pulling down my head to strectch the muscles of the neck. I held for ten seconds and repeated the exercise with the other side of the neck. I then proceeded to tilt my neck downwards to strectch the muscles of the back of the neck and also forward in opposite directions while counting to ten seconds. In doing this, I ensured no pain was caused and the neck was extended to as much as it can go without pains.

Shoulder stretch

I relaxed my arms, stretched out my right arm and supported by the other arm, pull it towards the other side of the shoulder and held for ten seconds, released it and repeated the same for the left arm. The stretch pulled a little tension at the shoulder but without pain.

Then I performed the chest stretch by gently pushing my two arms forward and to the back while spread out as in the video and held for ten seconds and then released them.

Lower back stretch

Here I put my arms in front of the chest and rotated my waist towards the left as far as it can go but without pains. This is to stretch the muscles of the lower back at the waist region and I turned and repeated the same for the right side of the waist while tilting to the right.

Upper back and chest stretch

Putting my two arms in front in a bent position as in the video, I stretched out as if reaching for something far in front from me and much as possible and counted till ten seconds.

I repeated the same for the chest stretch, the two arms locked together at the back is stretched as far as possible while bending forward for ten seconds and released as in the video.

Full back and back of legs stretch.

I stretched down in a bent position with my hands pointing out in front enabling the back to be stretched and held for ten seconds. I turned the other way and repeated for ten seconds.

The leg strectch, I bent one of the legs back wards and held it behind for ten seconds stretching while my arms stretched or extended up helped for support and repeated the same for the other leg.

Full leg stretch

I raised my left leg in Front to the buttocks level and held with my two arms while standing on my right leg and stretched for ten seconds. I repeated the same process for the right legs as this makes for the stretching of the full legs and the legs can be brought o the chest region and back after to release the tension in the muscles.

What areas of your body did you perceive as tense? Tell us about your experience.

During the strectching, I experienced different tensions varying with the area of the body that is been stretched.

• The neck stretch: I felt tension on the left and right side of the neck and also on the back and the front of the neck during the four sides stretching.
• Shoulder stretch: I felt tension on the right and left muscle part of the shoulders and also on the front of the chest region during the backward chest stretch.
• Lower back stretch: The tension was on the lower side of the waist region as I stretched from side to side.
• Upper back and chest stretch: The tension I experienced was on the upper side of my back as I stretched out and also on the front part of the chest during the backward chest stretch.
• Full back and back of legs stretch: The tension was spread through my back muscles and the on the muscles of the legs on the front thighs.
• Full leg stretch: The muscles at the back of the legs and the entire legs felt the stretch and even for the supporting legs.

Do you think stretching is beneficial or counterproductive for you? Explain your answer.

Stretching is very beneficial to me and not counter productive because of it many benefits.

• Stretching helps to improve the flexibility of our muscles and exploring their range of motions which helps us to easily carry out our daily activities.
• When our muscles are flexible through stretching, it reduces joint injury tendencies, muscle pulls and strains.
• Stretching helps to improves the circulation of blood in our muscles and joints thereby reducing soreness of muscles and improves recovery.
• When we stretch before engaging in exercise helps to prepare our muscles for the impact of the exercise while it helps to relax the muscles after the exercise.

Of all the techniques applied, which one would you choose for a personal exercise routine? Explain why.

On overall, I think the entire technique would work for me and as a part of my personal exercise routine since each of them focuses on different parts of the body and has its effects. Hence I’d settle for the whole as it would help work on different areas of my body hence enabling me grasp all the benefits of stretching.

Thank you for this interesting class. I ask @beeswrites, @lewaswrotes and @ninapemda to check out these stretching exercises.