This Weeks Plan

For this week I thought it would be fun to stretch my chest since I did not know you could do that as well as my calves/ankles, and toes! I feel that these areas can be overlooked as people like myself may not know they they are areas you can stretch. Tight calves and ankles have the potential of making other stretches harder and stretching my chest can help improve my posture.

What I Did

  • Doorway Chest Stretch: Stand in a doorway with both of your arms bent at 90 degrees and your hands on the door frame. Step one foot forward and lean through the doorway until you feel a stretch in your chest. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.
  • Standing Calf Stretch: Face a wall and place your hands on it. Step your right foot back keeping your heel flat and leg straight. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in your calf. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat on the other leg.
  • Ankle Circles: Standing, lift your right foot slightly off the ground. Rotate your ankle clockwise about ten times. Repeat on your other foot.
  • Seated Toe Stretch: Sit on your heels tucked under. Lean back gently until you feel a stretch through your toes and the bottom of your foot. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

Reflection

These Stretches felt very different since I have not done any of them before but after doing them a few times throughout the week they became more comfortable and felt really nice. At first though I did find the toe stretch to be uncomfortable and weird but it got easier each time I did it.

Resources

Doorway Chest Stretch

Standing Calf Stretch

Seated Toe Stretch

I found these resources to be very helpful in guiding me in how to do the stretches that I picked for this week. They included pictures or videos which I found very helpful so I could refer back to make sure I was doing the stretch properly.

Next Weeks Plan

Next week I want to combine all of the stretches that I have done so far into one singular 20-25 minute routine. I want to include at least one stretch from each week so that it can target everything I have done so far. I thought that this was a good idea because the stretches that I did in week one may get lost because I haven’t touched on them in a few weeks while focusing on other areas. I plan on doing longer full body routine like this every few weeks so that I can continue to work on all areas so I don’t lose that mobility.