Chest stretch

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What it’s good for All stretches help to lengthen spe­cific muscles, keep­ing the body in bal­ance, pre­vent­ing par­tic­u­lar muscles from becom­ing very tight and crampy, and keep­ing you more flex­ible. Everyday bene­fits include:

  • being able to do up but­tons, zips, neck­laces or bras that require fasten­ing behind you
  • fix­ing your col­lar and tie
  • wash­ing and styl­ing your hair
  • Keeping your back upright against for­ward hunch­ing and droop­ing
  • Helping to pre­vent extreme shoulder tight­ness if you spend most of your time sit­ting, espe­cially in a wheel­chair
How often to do it Daily, espe­cially morn­ings, even­ings and after sit­ting for long peri­ods
Equipment you’ll need Kitchen chair for sit­ting ver­sion

Standing with hands to bum, easing elbows back for a chest stretchStanding ver­sion

  • Stand with feet wide, under your shoulders, and soft knees
  • Place your hands on your bot­tom
  • Gently pull in your lower abs
  • Squeeze your elbows together behind you until you feel the pull from the tops of your arms into your chest
  • Hold for a count of 8–10, breath­ing nor­mally
  • Release and rest

If it feels very tight, repeat the stretch two or three times, rest­ing between

Cannot do this at all? If you are find­ing this too unsteady to hold the stretch, try the sit­ting ver­sion below

Sitting upright in chair with hands holding back of chair for chest stretchSitting ver­sion

  • Hold the back of the chair
  • Sit tall at the front of a kit­chen chair
  • Gently squeeze your shoulders back and lift your chest so you feel a pull from the tops of your arms into your chest
  • Hold for a count of 8–10, breath­ing nor­mally
  • Release and rest

If it feels very tight, repeat the stretch two or three times, rest­ing between

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