These are the best stretches to do after walking or running

Many women love to walk or run for exercise yet they feel too tight and stiff to keep going every single day.

The best way to reduce the tightness and stiffness is to stretch after every walk or run. Stretching doesn’t need to be extensive or elaborate to be effective. Read on to see the best stretches to do after a walk or run.

• Pigeon pose

• Kneeling hip flexor stretch

• Hamstring stretch

• Calf stretch

• Quad stretch

That’s 5 stretches, each one for 1 minute (split up) on each side means these stretches should take you 10 minutes to complete once you get the hang of them.

I love these stretches because they stretch out the big muscle groups that you’re using when you walk and run. You may decide a stretch feels really good and you want to stay in it longer (hello pigeon pose!)... if you’re new to stretching, ease into it by splitting up the 1 minute total of each stretch into repetitions.

Beginner stretching:

When I’m doing a new stretch I like to hold each stretch for 15 seconds at a time. To complete the 1-minute total stretch that means I’m doing it for 4 repetitions, alternating right to left.

As I get used to each stretch I’ll hold the stretch longer, 30 seconds for 2 repetitions.

Click each video below to learn how to complete each stretch the right way. Quality is key… make sure you can perform the stretch the right way to get the benefit!

Bonus: massager tool for recovery

I also love to use my massager tool to get any extra soreness out. This one I do to tolerance, so I’d say usually 30 seconds per spot and I hit all the sore muscle spots.

If you’re looking for more guidance on how to have happy knees for exercise check out the guide here.