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Warm Up, Massage and
Stretching Exercises For Walkers
These warm up, massage and stretching exercises for walkers increase flexibility and balance and make your walking more comfortable and enjoyable. Whether you walk for fitness or fun, maintaining a flexible back, hips and legs is essential. Your muscles and joints will gradually stiffen and lose their full range of motion, without regular warm up, stretching and cool down exercises, leading to difficulty in walking and possibly injury. Back and leg strengthening exercises are also included here as they improve not only your body strength and muscle to fat ratio, but also your overall walking performance. Check with your health professional first though before trying any new exercises, especially if you have a history of back or leg problems or you haven't exercised for some time.
Warm Up Exercises
Back Twist:
Enhances blood circulation, loosens & limbers your spine from top to bottom; aligns your vertebrae, limbers your hips and waist.
Abdominal Lift:
Improves blood circulation; massages your abdominal organs; tones & strengthens your diaphragm, which benefits your breathing.
Back Arch:
Stretches & loosens your back, neck & pelvic area.
Hip Swivel:
Loosens & limbers your hips, waist, lower back and pelvic region.
Leg Stretching & Strengthening Exercises
Forward Lunge:
Stretches & strengthens your front and outer thighs, and your lower back, knees & ankles.
Thigh Burner:
Stretches & strengthens your inner thighs, knees and pelvic area.
Hamstring & Calf Stretch:
Loosens & limbers the backs of your legs; balances the effects of the thigh exercises, above; opens important energy channels from your spine to your feet.
Knee Circles:
Limbers & strengthens your knees & ankles.
Ankle Stretch & Roll:
Stretches & strengthens your ankles & surrounding soft tissues; encourages local blood flow; stimulates important energy meridians in your legs & feet.
Cool Down Exercises
As you will discover, many Chinese health exercises are multi beneficial. Some of the above warm up and stretching exercises for walkers can also be used as cool down exercises. Do the
Back Twist
for your back, hips and waist; the
Forward Lunge
and
Hamstring & Calf Stretch
for your legs, and the
Ankle Stretch & Roll
and
Foot Massage
for your ankles and feet. Experiment to see what works best for you. This site contains many other warm up and stretching exercises too.
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Stretching Exercises For Walkers
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