Healthy Core: How to Stretch Your Abs

For those who are working on their abs, they often look at all the exercises that are going to work every angle of their abs. After all, who doesn’t want a flat, washboard stomach in time for swimsuit season?! With this being said, those who are doing these exercises, need to realize that you also need to focus on stretching your abs.

Ab Stretches: Why They Are Important

Just why should you be concerned about ab stretches? Ab stretches offer several benefits including:

• It helps to prevent back pain later. When you are doing ab exercises, you are putting a lot of stress on the core and the back. With property stretching, you can avoid the back pain that comes with these exercises.
• Stretching is a great way to increase your flexibility. As you focus on ab stretches, you are going to find that you can increase many of your movements within the exercise.
• When you stretch, you actually boost the recovery of your ab muscles. Let’s face it, most people work their abs several times a week without breaks. These ab stretches help your abs muscles to snap back into the shape they need to be to perform the exercises later.
• Stretches are vital to help you start your exercise routine off on the right foot. You stretch before running a marathon, so you should use the same principle for your ab routine.

How to Stretch Your Abs

Now that you see the benefits of this, there are several stretches that you can put into your workout routine to get the most out of your ab routine. These can be used before your exercise, as well as after to help with recovery.

1. Cobra Pose

Lay flat on the floor, and then lift with your arms, bending your back. This is going to stretch the entire abdominal wall.

2. Cat Stretch

Get onto your hands and knees, then bend your back towards the floor. You are imitating a cat stretch.

3. Exercise Ball Stretch

Using an exercise ball, put your upper body onto the ball and let your arms fall behind you. Then place your feet on the floor, knees bent and let your body relax. This is a great after workout exercise, that helps to really help your ab muscles to go back into place after an intense workout.

Remember, when it comes to stretching, you always want to stretch out the muscles that your workout, including your abs!