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This pattern in daily behavior can make for super tight muscles.

Experts in This Article

Kenny Cruz is a certified personal trainer with Blink Fitness.

This is where stretching comes in to ease tension and stay nimble.

woman sweating in the gym

Kenny Cruz is a certified personal trainer with Blink Fitness.

More specifically, stretching increases blood flow and flexibility.

But not all stretches are created equal.

Some are all too easy to overdo, leading to injury.

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

Others simply arent very effective.

Think: walking lunges and leg swings, for example.

And several are easily taken too faryou can strain the muscles, causing injury.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

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Happy woman dancing and listening to music near a green empty wall outdoor in the city.

Kenny Cruz is a certified personal trainer with Blink Fitness.

Whats more, its not super effective for increasing flexibility.

Take your left foot and place it flat on the ground and on the outside of your right knee.

Start by standing with your feet together and raise one leg by bending the knee.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

This will improve hip mobility and increase flexibility in the glutes and hamstrings, he says.

Aim for 30 seconds.

Hold the position for 30 seconds per side, twice total, to loosen the hip muscles.

A young black woman doing post-run stretches in the park on the road amidst green grass and trees.

Which for a lot of people is one of their tightest areas, he says.

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