概述

It’s a good idea to warm up your muscles as part of your exercise routine. Muscles that are not properly warmed up are at higher risk of injury. This can easily be accomplished with a light, active warmup such as动态拉伸or jogging.

While professionals disagree over whether it’s better to stretch before or after a workout, most doctors recommend stretching as part of an exercise routine, particularly if you’re doing activities such as running or biking.

Flexibilitydoesn’t happen overnight, however. Some people are naturally less flexible than others, so it may take weeks of regular stretching to improve joint mobility. Carol Michaels, founder ofRecovery Fitness，由癌症运动培训学院认证，美国运动委员会，美国运动医学院，是ACSM和Idea的成员。

Here are four leg stretches she recommends to improve flexibility and reduce the risk of injury. Try to hold each stretch for about 30 seconds.

Thequadriceps, or quads for short, is the muscle group in the front of your thigh. You use these muscles when you walk, run, or do lunges.

伸展你的四:

  1. 站在墙上，把手放在墙上进行平衡。
  2. Hold your outside foot with your outside hand and lift the foot up toward your rear end, keeping your thighs and knees together.
  3. You should feel a gentle to moderate stretch in the front of the thigh.
  4. Hold for a cycle of relaxation breathing, then do the same for the other foot.

Thehamstringsare the muscles along the back of your upper leg, running from the thigh to theknee. They help you to bend your knee and move your hip. These muscles are used when you’re playing sports or running.

Your calf muscles are along the back of your lower leg. They help move your heel during activities such aswalking, running, or jumping.

To stretch both muscle groups together:

  1. 把右脚放在你面前。
  2. Hinge at the waist to lean your torso forward toward the extended right leg, and bend your supporting knee.
  3. Slowly flex your right ankle so that your toes are pulling up toward your body.
  4. Hold for a cycle of relaxation breathing and then repeat with the left foot.

The inner thigh muscles help to stabilize your hip and knee joints. Exercises that focus on working inner thighs are often recommended to tone and strengthen the legs.

To stretch your inner thighs:

  1. 站立非常宽的姿态。
  2. 当你向你的整个身体转移到你的左侧大腿内部伸展时，弯曲你的右膝。
  3. Hold for a cycle of relaxation breathing, then shift your weight to the other side and repeat with the left leg.

This stretch works your lower back, hamstring, calf, and ankle. All of these areas are used in your daily activities, and while running or biking.

To perform this stretch:

  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
  2. 弯曲一个膝盖，把它抱成你的身体。
  3. 慢慢地踢到天花板上的腿，矫直它并将其拉向躯干，直到腿部背后感受到张力。
  4. Point and flex the foot 3 times and perform 3 ankle circles in each direction.
  5. Lower the leg and repeat with the opposite leg.

All four of these stretches can help you avoid injuries if you’re arunneror if you play any sport that works your legs. Do them either before or after a workout, or any time your leg muscles are feelingtight.