How to be flexible at home. Developing flexibility at any age

Flexibility usually refers to the range of motion in joints, as well as the length of the ligaments and tendons that surround the joints. If you want to become more flexible, stretching exercises alone will not be enough. Yoga or Pilates can improve your flexibility and overall health. Besides, proper nutrition and getting enough fluids in your diet will help you become more flexible.

Steps

How to start doing stretching exercises

Contact a fitness instructor. Before you begin stretching exercises, it is important to talk to a trainer or fitness instructor. Even one lesson or master class will be enough to remember the correct poses.

A fitness instructor will assess your natural flexibility and range of motion and recommend exercises based on your fitness level and desires.
Look for stretching or flexibility classes.
V gym, in a martial arts studio or in a yoga studio.

Be sure to warm up your muscles before stretching exercises. If you try to pull on cold muscles, you can strain or injure them. It is best to do stretching at the end of any other workout.

Load options before stretching Walk or jog for 5-10 minutes.
Light dynamic stretching. You can do lunges, rotate your arms at the shoulder in both directions, pump up your abs, trying to reach with your hands the toes of your straightened legs. The most important thing is not to freeze in one position.
Relax your joints. Massage your back, legs, gluteal muscles and hip flexors while lying on a special cushion.

Stretch your arm and shoulder muscles. Stand or sit on the edge of a stable chair. If you decide to stretch your muscles while sitting, watch your posture.

Perform the exercise with a straight back. Lower your shoulder blades and do not bend your back to the sides.

Extend one arm straight out in front of you and press the other just above the elbow. Press your hand until you feel tension. Do not push your hand further than it starts on its own. Hold for 5 seconds. Don't forget to breathe deeply. Then release and repeat with the other hand.
Raise one arm above your head, bend it at the elbow, and lower your palm behind your head. Try to grab the palm of the first hand behind your back with your second hand, if you can reach it. If you can't reach, bend your other arm, bringing your palm below your elbow, and reach down to create tension in your biceps. Hold for 5 seconds, then repeat with the other hand.

Do a bridge to stretch your back muscles. The bridge is a full-body exercise, but the muscles that work the most are your chest, legs, and core. Lie on the floor on your back, bend your knees at an angle of 90 degrees and place your feet on the ground.
- Place your palms on both sides of the mat and begin to lift your hips so that your body forms a bridge. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor. Hold at the top for 5-10 seconds, taking deep breaths, and then lower to the floor. Repeat 3-5 times.
- If you want to make the exercise more challenging, do a bridge and then lift one leg up towards the ceiling. Lower your leg and repeat on the other leg.
Make a butterfly. Butterfly is a stretching exercise gluteal muscles and thigh muscles. In addition, it allows you to relax your neck and back. Sit on the floor and stretch your legs forward.
- Bend your knees and bring your feet together. Grab your feet with your hands and, as you exhale, bend your body towards your feet. Important
  tighten your core muscles and do not bend your back,
  And also move your shoulders back.
- Bend down as low as you can. Hold for 30–120 seconds. Don't forget to breathe deeply.

Perform side torso twists while sitting. Sit on the floor, stretch your legs in front of you, and bring your legs and feet together. Tighten your core, pull your shoulders back and lower them.

As you exhale, turn your body to the side and place both hands on the floor on the side you are turning to. Don't arch your back and twist only at the waist - don't rotate your hips.
Hold for 15-30 seconds, return to the starting position and repeat on the second side. You can do 2-4 repetitions on each side.

Do the back exercise. There is an exercise taken from yoga and Pilates that opens the chest and stretches the muscles of the back and core. Lie on the floor on your stomach, stretch your legs back.
- Bend your elbows and place your palms on the floor on either side of your body. As you exhale, straighten your arms and bend your back. Lower your shoulders and move them back.
- Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together without lifting your hips off the floor.
  Feel the stretch in your chest.
  Hold this position for 15-30 seconds, then lower to the ground. Repeat 3-5 times.

Do this exercise for your hip flexors and quadriceps. This exercise is similar to lunges, but in this variation, straightening the leg allows you to stretch the hip muscles, as well as the tendons and quadriceps. To perform the exercise, kneel on the floor.

Place one foot forward so that it forms a right angle. Take a step forward as far as possible. You will feel a stretch in the second leg. The shin should be perpendicular to the floor and the knee should be above the ankle.
Grasp the knee of the leg that is currently in front and push your hips forward. Breathe deeply. Hold for 15-30 seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

Yoga or Pilates

Focus on your breathing. Breathing is a key element of yoga and Pilates. Before you begin, meditate on your breathing for a few minutes.
Choose poses that can be easily modified. At the very beginning of classes, you may find it difficult to get into the correct position. Use special yoga bricks or rolled or folded towels. Place them under your body to perform the exercises correctly, and do not stretch more than you can.
- For example, the forward fold is useful for developing flexibility in the legs and back. You may not be able to immediately reach your palms and place them on the ground. Try placing a yoga brick in front of your feet and resting your palms on it.
- The body can behave differently on different days. Be patient and don't be discouraged if one day you don't stretch as hard as you did the previous workout.
Relax your spine with cat and cow poses. This pose is suitable for beginners and improves back and core flexibility. In addition, it helps to relax physically and psychologically. Get on all fours.
- Your wrists should be directly under your shoulders and your knees should be directly under your hips. Straighten your back so that it looks like a flat tabletop, lower your shoulders down and away from your ears. Breathe deeply.
- As you inhale, bend your back strongly, lift your head and open your chest. Hold this position.
- As you exhale, arch your back toward the ceiling, tuck your chin toward your chest, and tuck your shoulders slightly inward.
- Repeat the exercise for 5–10 cycles of inhalation and exhalation, without changing the combination of movement and breathing.
Hold the position for several breaths. If you're looking to improve your flexibility, it's important to hold the position and breathe deeply as you stretch the muscles during yoga or Pilates classes. This allows you to relax your body and stretch more.
- As you inhale, think about the strength of your muscles. As you exhale, relax your muscles and try to go lower in the stretch.
Perform movements without pauses. Many poses in yoga and Pilates are combined, and each movement is synchronized with the breath. Constant movement will allow you to improve flexibility and increase blood flow to your joints.
- Remember to focus on your breathing. If you start to get out of breath or feel like you're holding your breath rather than synchronizing it with your movements, try to slow down.
Learn to salute the sun. Sun salutation is vinyasa, that is, a chain of movements that are performed sequentially without stopping, and for each movement there is an inhalation or exhalation. There are 12 poses in sun salutation.
- Get into the starting pose - the mountain pose in yoga. You will need to move smoothly from one pose to another, synchronizing your breathing with your movements, and then return to mountain pose.
- Sun salutations are a great cardio workout. This exercise can serve as a warm-up to more intense stretching or flexibility training.
Exercise regularly and consistently. There won't be any changes unless you practice consistently. You don't have to exercise every day, but it's important to try
- At first, exercise for 10-15 minutes 3-4 times a week. If you like it, try doing it more often, but don't quit halfway through.

How to be young and beautiful? How to be healthy? How to become flexible? We can ask ourselves these and other questions every day. After all, youth is short-lived, and to be

You want to be beautiful, slim and fit for as long as possible. Good body condition is, first of all, the flexibility and elasticity of our muscles. A flexible body tells us about the health of the spine, joints, and normal motor activity, so it is necessary to carefully work on the development of this important quality. Unanimous and, most likely, the only way The development of body flexibility can be recognized by regular training, where the emphasis must be placed on constant stretching. This will allow you to achieve excellent results in a short period of time. Stretching the muscles of the back (spine, thoracic region), legs, arms gives us the opportunity to economically spend energy and distribute it.

How to become flexible and how to achieve the desired result?

Our practical advice

It is important to remember that you need to start developing body flexibility in childhood. Many parents turn a blind eye to this, and by adolescence they begin to wonder why the child does not do the splits or do a “bridge.” You can add elasticity to your body at any age, the main thing is to work hard at it, do flexibility exercises, and also move more, namely: take walks and minimize sitting on the couch in front of the TV or computer. If muscles are not trained, they contract and lose strength. And this is fraught with various unpleasant results for your body.

Training, or How to become flexible

Before starting classes, the muscles need to be warmed up and only then begin to perform more complex exercises. Here are some of them:

Feet shoulder-width apart, raise your arms to the sky and stretch your arms upward as much as possible, stretching your back muscles. In this case, there is no need to lift your heels off the floor. We count to ten and bend down, trying to reach the floor with our hands. (Repeat five to ten times).
We sit on the floor, legs forward, lean forward as much as possible and try to reach our fingertips. You need to stay in this position for 10 seconds, then return to the starting position (Repeat five to ten times).
Lie down on the floor, arms straight above your head, legs straight. We raise our leg to right angle and pull it towards your head. We do fifteen to twenty times on each leg.
Standing on the floor, we pull one knee to the chest one by one, holding it for five to ten seconds. Then we lower the leg.

Correct execution is the key to success

Exercises should be performed slowly, smoothly, without haste. You should be comfortable. It is advisable to “work” in a good mood. It is important to remember that flexibility is the work of all muscle groups, and therefore you cannot pay separate attention to the legs or arms, everything must be in combination. If you do everything clearly and correctly, then the question of how to become flexible will never arise. You will have amazing health throughout for long years life. And even very young people will envy your flexibility.

Instructions

Dancing is the easiest and most enjoyable way to develop body mobility. Select one or more destinations that are close to you - modern dance, Latin American, strip dance classes, oriental dancing, etc. You must experience positive emotions, otherwise training will become a real torture. It is not at all necessary to dance at a professional level - you can change your preferences, looking for workloads that are acceptable to you. In order for you to be able to move freely and fluidly on the dance floor in a few weeks, two or three classes a week are enough.

Any stretching exercises will help make the body flexible - yoga, choreographic classes, etc. By stretching your body in various poses, you train your muscles and strengthen your joints. If you are not lazy and practice every other day, then in a couple of months you will be able to boast of the gracefulness of your movements. Yoga is suitable for those who do not like dancing - breathing practices, coupled with stretching exercises, will increase the body's endurance, strengthen muscle fibers, and help make the body elastic, flexible and slender.

Belly dancing is a great way to learn to move with grace, grace and flexibility. This kind physical activity does not overload the ankle or wrist joints, promotes the formation of seductive curves, and helps to master smooth and beautiful movements. Your gait will change and become lighter. This type of dance also has a healing effect, eliminating congestion in the pelvic organs.

Practice at home on your own if you don't have the time or ability to go to a dance studio or gym. Prepare an individual set of several exercises aimed at developing flexibility, stretching muscles and working out joints. This can be bending the body to the sides, forward and backward, lunges, rotational movements, stretching the muscles of the legs, arms, etc. To control the amplitude and correctness of individual movements, train in front of a mirror - you will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the training with each training session.

Sources:

How to be more flexible

Body language can tell a lot about its owner, and it’s good when body- absolutely. But it often happens that we are unhappy with our reflection in the mirror, and sometimes even feel awkward, and our body doesn't listen to us. To avoid this you just need to take care of yourself. Where to start? Initially, using standard examples, make your own body more flexible.

Instructions

The easiest way to develop body abilities is modern dancing. There are a huge number of trends (go-go/ sexy Style, hip-hop, latina Solo, strip-plastic, body-shake, dance-hall, stretching, RnB), and a style that matches your character is not difficult. This type is chosen by those who do not want to become attached to any specific dance trends. If you exercise at least three to four times a week, then very soon body will gain tone and become flexible, and you will feel more confident at any party.

You can achieve body flexibility by practicing classical choreography. Stretching at the barre, as well as a combination of various training exercises on the floor, will help strengthen all muscle groups in a short time, and will also make body more flexible and graceful.

For connoisseurs of calm, balanced rhythms, yoga is suitable. Measured and smooth movements will help activate the muscles, thereby stretching them and making them more flexible. This includes the whole system physical exercise, and in order to perform them you need to learn to breathe correctly in accordance with specific tasks. Only then will yoga have the desired effect and help the body become elastic.

One of the most effective ways do body capable of wriggling as well as a snake is belly dancing, a Western dance technique common in the Middle East and Arab countries. After all, the whole originality of this lies in its plasticity. Belly dancing, unlike other dances, does not put stress on the ankle joints, and this good way modeling the figure and acquiring a flexible and plastic body.

If you want to achieve a beautiful body in, you can start doing a set of body exercises, developing joint mobility and ligament elasticity. The most important thing here is to show concentration and willpower. Such flexibility and stretching exercises can improve the mobility of the joints, and thereby promote their stretching. All exercises that help stretch muscles are suitable for this type of training. These can be bends, lunges, rotational movements.

Helpful advice

To achieve results, you need to train for at least three months.

Until recently, the country did not think about such a concept as femininity. For a long time V women's clothing The “unisex” style reigned, and women’s professions were masculine. But the era has changed, and again femininity in women is valued and extolled. And if you want to see a real man next to you, then you yourself must try to become a real woman.

Instructions

First of all, throw the trousers out of your wardrobe! A woman looks much more feminine and seductive in. Cross out “unisex” from your clothing style. Buy long skirts, body-hugging dresses and translucent blouses for your wardrobe, and you will see how heads turn after you! And don't forget that on high heels the leg looks much sleeker, slimmer and longer. And also accessories that are not available, which is nice! Light scarves, earrings, bracelets, beads will make you unique and incredible.

It is important to look feminine at home too, which means you must forget about the habit of fitting into your favorite robe (save it for the bath) and slippers of an unknown size! At home, your loved ones are looking at you, all the more so you need to choose clothes that will especially highlight your advantages. But it’s quite difficult to see any dignity in a robe.

Every girl dreams of being plastic, because thanks to them you can become more graceful and sophisticated. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly work on developing these qualities.

Some girls can boast of natural flexibility; they are really lucky. After all, even when they are already adults, they can do the splits without any problems. Although it has not been scientifically proven that flexibility can be hereditary.

Flexibility lies not only in the ability to throw your leg behind your head, it is the ability to feel and control every cell of your body. In nature, the most flexible creatures are all felines. Only a cat can silently sneak up to its victim, only it can gently stroke its owner’s leg with its whole body, and only a cat can remain intact after falling from a height. All thanks to the super developed abilities to bend your body.

A flexible body indicates the health of the joints and spine, so every person needs to work hard on it.

Most men are sure that flexible women are incredibly sexy and are real goddesses in bed. This is due to the fact that flexibility allows you to realize all your fantasies to the maximum.

The most flexible sports are rhythmic gymnastics and dancing. Gymnasts are especially capable of captivating with their movements. Sometimes you get the feeling that professionals simply don’t have bones, they can bend their own bodies so deftly.

Every person should understand that flexibility is something that each of us has in childhood. It’s just that some parents immediately begin to work with their children and develop these abilities even more, while others do not pay attention to flexibility and, as a result, their child is no longer realistic at 10 years old.

You can become plastic at any age and conditions. Carrying out the right houses, you will very soon be able to do the splits, somersault and reach your feet with your fingers.

Working out at home

Before starting stretching, each person should master the basic safety rules.

Try some at home simple exercises: Stand straight, touch your toes. If you can’t do this, then you definitely need to develop flexibility, but don’t think that after a week of doing the exercises you will be able to do the cross splits.

Exercises to develop plasticity must be performed constantly. For convenience, it is better to make a schedule.

Really good results may become obvious within a month, but with flexibility everything is individual. So don't get upset and don't give up.

For stretch marks, you must have special clothing, it can be a couple of sizes larger.

All exercises should be performed slowly, smoothly and without strain. You should not experience pain, everything should be comfortable. After all, you want to become more flexible, not get an Olympic medal.

It is better to do it in a good mood and in the morning. You will receive a huge charge of positive emotions, which will be enough for the whole working day.

When training, you should pay attention to all muscles. Flexibility is the interaction of all muscle groups, so you should not pull your legs and throw your arms completely.

Entire programs by different specialists have been developed for stretching. Take advantage of them.

Set of exercises

We lie down on the floor, place our arms at 90 degrees from the body, legs straight. We bend our right leg at the knee and try to touch it to the floor on the left side. We do the same with the other leg. Thus, the muscles of the legs, back and lateral abdominal muscles are stretched.

We sit on the floor, legs straight, simply stretching our palms towards our toes. Don't bend your knees or slack. You are stretching for yourself, so do the exercises honestly. 20 times.

We sit on the floor, knees under the butt, hands behind the head, elbows apart. Slowly we begin to stand up, then smoothly lower ourselves back down. 30 times.

Lie down completely on the floor, arms straight above your head, legs straight. Raise one leg to a right angle, grab it with your hand and pull it towards the head. 20 times on each leg.

We stand straight, put our right leg forward and bend it. We try to sit down as low as possible. For each leg 15 times.

Starting position as before. Sit down, grab your feet and try, without lifting your arms, to stand up completely. These are the so-called complicated squats. 25 times.

It’s quite easy to develop flexibility at home. All you need is your desire and willingness to become better.

Exercises aimed at improving the flexibility of the body are called stretching. Many of them are present in medical rehabilitation programs aimed at restoring body mobility after suffering certain injuries. In addition, stretching is mandatory in professional sports. It helps prevent injuries to ligaments, muscles, and joints during active loads, and improves the speed of recovery after intense training. Today, stretching has formed into a separate direction, which is becoming increasingly popular, because it has enough advantages. It is often practiced by girls whose main goal is flexibility and plasticity of the body, since stretching copes with this with a bang. Fitness centers offer group stretching classes. But you can also perform flexibility exercises for beginners and at home. The main thing is to study all the features of such activities.

Stretching and flexibility exercises are useful for absolutely everyone: both ladies who want to become more flexible and graceful, as well as male athletes and just people who want to improve their health and learn to better control their body. So that the exercises bring maximum benefit and efficiency, pay attention to the following nuances:

Stretching is divided into two types: static and dynamic. The essence of the first is that you will need to stay in a specific one position in order to create maximum load on the target muscle groups. Dynamic stretching involves making sudden movements. Dynamic loads are not recommended for beginners, since if the body is unprepared, it can provoke sprains and ruptures of ligaments and tendons.
Stretching gives quick results . Once you start exercising, you will soon feel how your muscle strength has increased and your well-being has improved, as the body is actively saturated with oxygen. The figure will become more slender and graceful. And even your skin will become fresher. But, of course, do not expect that the second time you practice, you will be able to do the splits. You will obviously become more flexible after about three months of training.
You cannot stretch from a resting state. Flexibility exercises are performed after actively warming up the muscles. You can jump rope, do squats, and do leg swings. And only when you feel that you are warmed up enough, start stretching.
Stretching exercises can be performed at any time of the day. However, experts believe that best time for this it is evening. Smooth and simple gymnastics will help you calm down and relax after a hard day.

During the exercise, you should only feel tension in the muscles and ligaments, but in no case pain. A sharp, severe pain indicates that something is damaged in the body. Do everything carefully and smoothly, listen to your body and give it time to get used to the stress. If you hear crunching or clicking sounds, feel muscle spasms, dizziness or severe pain, stop exercising.

An effective set of stretching and flexibility exercises

Do you want to improve flexibility, plasticity and grace, strengthen muscles and form beautiful body shapes? Then pay attention to the set of stretching and flexibility exercises proposed below.

Exercises to develop leg flexibility

1. Swing your legs

Swings help warm up the outer and inner muscles of the thighs, buttocks, calves, and hamstrings.

Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise one of them slightly forward, keeping your balance on your supporting foot. Afterwards, slowly and smoothly make pendulum-like movements with your leg to the right and left, watching your posture. With each turn, try to achieve the maximum range of motion of the joint. One swing should be performed for 30-60 seconds, alternate legs. You can use a forward-backward trajectory.

2. Side lunges

These flexibility and stretching exercises are great for stretching your buttocks and inner thighs. You need to stand up straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart, and place your hands on your waist. Step deeply to the right, bending your knee and leaving left leg straight. For some time, shift your body weight to your right leg, effectively stretching the muscles of your left thigh. Then return to the starting position and lunge in the other direction.

3. High knee raises

This stretch combines regular lunges with high knee raises. This combination helps achieve excellent dynamic stretching for the calves, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors.

Hands need to be fixed above your head, make a deep lunge right foot forward. When you come out, bend your back leg and try to raise your knee to your chest as high as possible. Returning to the starting position, immediately move into a lunge with your left leg.

4. Cross leg raises

Stretching calf muscles, lower back, hamstrings. You need to stand up straight, put your feet shoulder-width apart, and stretch your arms out in front of you, palms down. Perform cross leg raises, trying to touch your foot to the other palm.

Exercises for stretching and flexibility of arms

For arms, stretching and flexibility training may include the following exercises:

1. Compass

Well stretches the muscles and ligaments around the shoulder joint, preparing it for more active strength activities. You need to stand up straight, arms extended to your sides at shoulder level. Perform ten circular rotations forward and the same number back. Over time, increase the amplitude until the plane of the exercise is close to vertical. You can also perform versatile rotations with your hands, in which one moves clockwise and the other counterclockwise.

2. Scissors

This exercise perfectly stretches the arm flexor muscles. You need to straighten up, extend your arms straight in front of you at shoulder level. Start bringing your arms in and out, imitating the movement of scissors.

3. Retraction of the arm behind the head

This exercise provides a dynamic stretch to the triceps. You need to raise your left arm above your head and bend it at the elbow. Then right palm place it slightly below the elbow joint and pull it back until you feel that the muscle is as tense as possible. Hold for a few seconds at the point of maximum resistance, then return to the starting position. Repeat the same with the second hand.

4. Shoulder stretch

To stretch your shoulder girdle, stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Left hand Stretch it across your chest, take it by the elbow with your right hand and gently pull it towards you. When you feel a sufficient stretch in the target muscles, hold for 10-15 seconds, then do the same with the other arm.

Exercises to improve back flexibility

1. Step-tilt

The exercise improves the flexibility of the muscles of the back, buttocks, and the back of the thigh. You need to straighten up, take a step forward. Then, without rounding your back, bend over and try to reach your front foot. If you don't succeed right away, that's okay. Don't bend your back, just try to go lower and lower each time. Returning to the starting position, do the same with the other leg. In total, it is enough to take 12-14 steps.

2. Lazy stretches

This exercise is good for those who can do it anywhere – even in the office at their workplace, or at home in front of the TV. You need to sit on a chair, straighten up, tense your abdominal muscles. Now lift your right knee towards your chest without rounding your back. Place your hands on your shins and gently pull them towards you. Once you feel sufficient tension in your lower back, hold for half a minute, and then repeat the same with your left leg.

3. Seated bends

Such bends well stretch the deep muscles located along the spine. You need to sit on the floor, bend your knees and spread them wide. Keep your back straight. Inhale slowly and deeply, relax your muscles. Exhaling, bend forward as far as you can, extending your arms and trying to lie on the floor with your chest until you feel a sufficient stretch throughout your back. Hold the stretch for half a minute. It is recommended to repeat the exercise at least four times.

Stretch for pectoral muscles

The following exercises can be used for the chest muscles:

1. Camel

You need to kneel down, place your hands on the back of your lower back with your fingers down and tighten your stomach. Raise your head up, bend your torso back as much as possible, squeezing your shoulder blades. Hold for a few breaths, then sit on the floor. There are more difficult option camel pose, in which you also need to grab your heels.

2. Bridge

This exercise stretches your chest muscles while strengthening your quadriceps. You need to lie on your back, bend your knees, place your heels close to your buttocks. Then lift your hips up as much as possible, press your forearms into the floor and further move your shoulders. Hold for five breaths in the most high point, then smoothly return to the starting position.

3. Applause

Stand up straight, extend your arms in front of you at shoulder level, press your palms together. Keeping your arms straight, move them back as far as possible, then return to the starting position. The movement should resemble broad applause. It is recommended to repeat it at least 15 times, periodically changing the intensity of the clapping.

Abdominal stretching exercises

1. Awakening

This exercise helps stretch both the anterior and oblique abdominal muscles, as well as the deep muscles that run along the spine. Stand straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart. Interlace your fingers and extend your arms above your head, turning your palms toward the ceiling. Inhale, squeeze your abs and buttocks while stretching your arms upward. Then exhale and lean to the right, keeping your hips tight. Hold for half a minute, then return to the starting position. Reach towards the ceiling again and tilt in the other direction.

2. Twists on a chair

An excellent exercise for stretching the abdominal muscles and lower back muscles, which are responsible for turning the body to the side. You need to sit on the front edge of the chair, with your feet firmly pressed to the floor. Then turn your torso as far as possible to the left and grab the back of the chair with both hands. Additionally, try to tighten your core muscles. Hold for a few seconds, then return to the starting position. As you turn further, try to increase your range of motion. Do the same in the other direction. Repeat the exercise 3-5 times in total.