Literally 5 Stretches is all you Need.

There are three parts to this video. Lower body, upper body, and spine. Which you better wait for and watch because in each section there is a fun fact about flexibility and the last one is definitely my favorite. And of course there is going to be easy and hard versions of every exercise so you can follow along at your own level. So here are the only five stretches that you need to become flexible. So sorry to interrupt. This video is sponsored by me. I write a weekly newsletter called The Stretch which is all about fitness and flexibility. So if you want to learn a little bit more every single week you can sign up in the description below and as soon as you sign up you also get all four of my completely free ebooks. We keep your data safe and I hope you learn a little bit. Stretch one. What if you were so flexible you could touch your toes and it didn't even feel like a stretch and that sitting on the floor was super comfortable because you got noodle like legs. Well there is only one stretch that you need. It's not this one because for this to feel effortless you actually need to be able to get elbow all the way to toe. And it's not this stretch because what you really need is knees all the way down to the ground and a flat back for that noodle leg comfort. So instead of doing all of that the pancake stretch does both at the same time. The easy version is starting with a higher pelvis, legs apart, arch your back and reach forward towards something of the same height. And the medium version is just on the floor. You start with your fingers then your elbows and then you do a shaka. After this it gets hard. You do fist, forehead, chin, chest and then stomach and eventually you'll hug the planet with both your legs and your arms. Make sure you track your progress and as you get to the more advanced levels you might as well start working on your middle split too. This is probably a good point to tell you that you need five minutes a week for every stretch in this video according to this study. But you can't do all five minutes in one go so do it in 30 second sets. Why? Because this study found that 30 seconds is give or take around 10% better than 15 seconds or 60 seconds. So 30 seconds is a good middle ground. Which if you do the math is 10 sets of 30 seconds for every single stretch every single week. But it's easier than you think it is. If you're stretching just Mondays and Fridays you're gonna need to hold that 30 second stretch five times on each of those days. But that is a lot so I actually recommend stretching Monday through Friday. Hold your 30 second stretch, rest and then do your 30 second stretch again. So that's two sets every day but you rest on the weekends. Stretch two. Why are you walking funny? Stiff booty. Why can you only sit like a shrimp? Stiff booty. Why is your life falling apart and your soul being crushed? Stiff booty. So instead of all of that cross your leg over lean forward and feel the stretch here. This is called the figure four stretch and it's basically the secret elixir to life. But if this hurts your knee while you do it pull the knee toward the chest like this and if you can't reach it you can actually use a band or a belt to pull it like this way and then try and sneak the foot a little over to the side and you'll still feel it somewhere in your butt. If that's too easy the hardest version is actually using the floor like this. This is called the half pigeon stretch and if you do it enough you might end up putting your foot behind your head. Results may vary. Stretch three. You might not want a front split but I guarantee you do want stretchier hip flexors. Yes they are associated with the lower body but did you know some of these hip flexors actually go through your pelvis and attach to your lower back on the inside and I know your lower back is stiff so here's how to work on back and hips at the same time. In a lunge sink the hips down. Do not let the hips point out to the side or the foot fall over. Keep the hips pointed forward. Force it if you have to. Reach up and over. At this point you'll be fighting for air. Just keep taking little sips of breath and if this is too difficult worry not. Instead start with the hips a little higher. Hold something for balance and you can also look up to feel the stretch all through your hip flexors and you really want to feel it sneak up into the abs as well. After 30 seconds of that you should be feeling amazing. Why haven't you tried it yet? Try it now. After just three stretches you stretch your hamstrings, your inner thighs, your hip flexors and the booty. I don't know if you're keeping track but that is every part of the hips and as a bonus we also stretch the lower back and we stretch the abs. Not bad for just three stretches. Wait we forgot our fun fact. Let's see. Stretching is really good for blood pressure regulating. In fact it's better for lowering blood pressure than going on a brisk walk which is pretty surprising. Now don't forget there's two more fun facts ahead now we can roll the screen. Stretch four. If I had to choose one stretch to help you scratch the one spot on your back, pass snacks to the kids in the back of the car and make you feel like a kid again it would not be this stretch that everybody does because the chest only gets stretched for like half a second and only when you're in this position right here and it's not enough. So instead place the bar on your shoulder, chest out as far as you can, grab the pole with your hands and push out backwards till you feel a huge stretch all through the front side of your chest and maybe in your bicep a bit. Hold it for 30 seconds and you can also use a belt if you don't have a broom pole available in much the same way. A wide grip is easier and a narrow grip is actually way way harder. If you don't feel like a newborn baby after that stretch, do it again. Stretch five. Would you rather lose the ability to reach overhead or lose the ability to sit up straight with good posture? Well if you never stretch your lats you might lose both of those abilities. Easy, medium, hard, hardest. So pick the level that you can do and make it a habit. Fun fact, stretching works via mechanical tension just like working out. So when you're stretching you are actually bodybuilding but lengthwise. That's pretty cool. The final fun fact coming up is my favorite by the way. Wait a minute we already did five stretches so why is there another section of the video? Posture moment. You cannot convince me that good posture is more attractive than bad posture. Case in point, Holland. What a hunk. But spinal extension is trainable. Here's how. Crush the ribs against the wall. Glue them there. No cheating. Bring the elbows and wrists all the way back. Try to touch the wrists of the wall but check. Did your ribs flare? If so, squish them back down and restart. That tension you're feeling in the front of the chest and the back of the spine is upper thoracic extension. I have an entire free ebook on this topic and the single best exercise in it is wall angels. Ten slow reps. Keep those ribs down. Final fun fact, my favorite. Stretching increases your pain tolerance and not just in the area you stretched. It happens across your whole body and that's probably why those Shaolin monks are the way that they are. Hmm. Let's do a quick recap. Just five stretches and you too can be flexible. Number one, the pancake stretch. Higher is easier, lower is harder. Number two, figure four stretch. Feel it here. Support your knee if you have to and eventually work up to fully flat on the floor. Three, hip flexor stretch. Feel it here. Add a reach and feel it all the way into the abs. Four, chest stretch. Use a stick from your local park or a broom from your home. Holding the stick really far apart is gonna be a little easier. Holding it much closer together is going to be considerably harder. And number five, lat stretch. Easy, medium, hard, and hardest. If you want to just try all this later, you can screenshot this. Stay flexy.