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What Is the Safest Type of Stretching for Beginners to ... What Is a Good Stretching Routine Before Bed? Can You Stretch Your Midsection?

by Rob Harris 
Abdominal muscles need stretching after a workout just like the muscles in your arms and legs. Without proper stretching, the ab muscles can tear or strain. Your midsection is a difficult section to target when stretching, but an exercise ball and some other basic equipment can help you engage in deep abdominal stretching.


Before you exercise, you can warm up your ab muscles with some basic stretches. Save the deep stretches for after your workout, when your muscles are warm and can get the most out of the stretching. Raise your hands above your head and interlock them. Lean your upper body gently backward from your midsection, keeping your lower body straight. Bend slightly to each side to engage your obliques in the stretch. Don't push this stretch too hard; it's just to get your muscles ready to work out. You can also lay on your stomach on the floor and push up your upper body with your hands shoulder-width apart, fully extending your arms. Keep your hips on the floor to focus the stretch on your midsection.

Deep Stretches for Beginners

After your workout, soothe your muscles with deep stretches. Although many midsection stretches require a good bit of flexibility and core strength to hold the stretch, there are some appropriate for those just beginning a workout regimen. Sit on an exercise ball and roll forward slightly until your back rests on top of the ball. Lean backward until your hands touch the floor behind the ball, keeping your feet firmly planted. If you can't reach the floor at first, don't force it. Continue performing the stretch after your workouts, reaching as far back as possible while arching your back over the ball until you become flexible enough to touch the floor with your hands. To stretch the sides of your midsection, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Keep your knees together and lower your knees to each side slowly, holding at the bottom of the stretch. If you can't go very far to each side to begin with, keep working at it until your knees nearly reach the floor.

More Advanced Deep Stretches

For more advanced exercisers, perform a backbend without using the exercise ball to support your back. However, the exercise ball can help you with a stretch for the sides of your midsection. Kneel beside the ball and lean over the ball so one hand touches the floor. Extend your outer leg and reach up with your outside arm. Move your arm slightly behind you for a deeper stretch.

Easy Stretches

Because many abdominal stretches require a strong back, people with back injuries or other back problems need to be careful stretching their midsections. Some safer alternatives include sitting in a chair, putting your hands behind your head and leaning as far to each side as you comfortably can. Also, you can twist your upper body back and forth while sitting. As an alternative to a backbend, lie on your back on a bed with your shoulders along one edge and your head hanging over the side. Keep your arms straight and lift them over your head, pushing them down toward the floor as far as is comfortable. The rest of your body -- torso, hips and legs -- should be completely supported by the bed.



