The Versatile Exercise You Can *Literally* Do Anywhere

Whether we like it or not, winter has arrived, and that means… yes, you guessed it— staying at home.

A lot.

Being stuck at home during the winter can make it hard to do a number of outdoor activities, and that’s especially true when it comes to exercise. That said, there is one type of exercise you can do from the comfort of your own home: stretching.

Boasting a number of health benefits— from improving your posture to calming your mind— stretching can be practiced in a myriad of ways. While there are over five stretching methods generally used in the fitness world, there are only two that are safe to practice on your own without the guidance of a fitness professional.

Here, we highlight the top two stretching techniques you can do… well, just about anywhere!

Static Stretching
Often recommended for general fitness, static stretching typically involves holding a stretch in a comfortable position for a period of time, typically between 10 and 30 seconds. This type of stretching should always be performed with warm muscles— i.e. after a warm-up or at the end of a workout.

Image via www.researchgate.net

Dynamic Stretching
Dynamic stretching is just what it sounds like: stretching with movement. While these movements cause the muscles to stretch, the stretch is not held in the end position. An example of dynamic stretching is alternating knee lifts which repeatedly stretch the hamstrings while keeping the body in motion.

Image via https://blog.playo.co/