Easy arm stretches to build strength and ease sore muscles (Image via Pexels/Barbara Olsen)

Easy Arm Stretches to Help Build Strength & Ease Sore Muscles

Timeless

Arm stretches can help build strength and improve flexibility. Stretching the arms is an easy way to make sure the biceps, triceps, and shoulder muscles stay strong and flexible.

Not only does stretching helps sore muscles heal faster, it can also improve posture and make it easier to get dressed in the morning.

Warming Up Arms: How To Do It?

You can do simple arm stretches at home. (Image via Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio)

The arms are made up of several muscles, including the biceps, triceps, deltoids, forearms, wrists, and pectorals. They help perform actions like pushing, pulling, lifting and raising, wiggling the fingers, and balancing.

At home, you can do simple arm stretches with a yoga mat or towel and a resistance band. Hold each posture for about 20 seconds, and repeat them two or three times a week between strength training or high intensity interval training.

Easy Arm Stretches To Release Sore Muscles and Build Strength

Want to relax aching muscles, improve your posture, and increase your flexibility? The following arm stretches can help you do just that:

1) Eagle Arm

Improves flexibility (Image via Pexels/Karolina Grabowska)

This move stretches the shoulders and upper back, stabilizes the shoulder joint, and increases flexibility and range of motion in that area. You can use a wrist wrest to help combat slumping over your laptop or keyboard.

How to do an eagle arm:

Inhale, stretching your arms out to your sides.
Exhale, bringing them in front of you and wrapping your arms about each other.
Imagine giving yourself a hug.
If you have greater flexibility in your shoulders, release your grip, and continue wrapping your forearms around each other.
Inhale, raising your elbows a few inches.
Exhale, relaxing your shoulders down.

2) Reverse Prayer

Reverse Prayer can help improve flexibility in the shoulders, arms, and chest. It also stretches the forearms.

How to do a reverse prayer:

Bring your hands behind your back, with the fingertips pointing toward the ground.
Exhale, and as you inhale, rotate your hands so that the opposite fingertips touch.
To go deeper into the stretch, inhale and sink into it.
As you breath out, bring your hands closer to each other. The movement will bring them up and along the line of the spine..

3) Cow Face Pose

The cow face pose stretches the shoulders and chest while also relaxing the armpits and triceps. If you find the arm stretch difficult because of tight shoulders, try the modified version as mentioned below, using a strap or towel.

How to do a cow face pose:

Bend your elbow so that it's pointing towards the ceiling and patting yourself on the back by your shoulder blades.
On an exhale, lower your left arm out to the side. Wrap your right arm behind your back, and place the back of your right hand on your lower back.
Gently work your arms together, keeping them close to parallel with the spine.
Aim to keep your hands moving towards the space between the shoulder blades.

4) Assisted Side Bend

Assisted side bend helps open up the body. (Image via Pexels/Karolina Grabowska)

This is one of the arm stretches that helps in opening up the side body, lengthening the torso, and relieving shoulder tension.

How to do an assisted side bend:

Inhale and sweep your arms up and overhead.
As you exhale, ground down into your pelvis or feet, and lean to the left as you pull gently on your right arm with your left hand.
Breathe deeply and slowly as you stretch your arm out to the side.
When you feel ready, switch arms, and stretch the other side.

5) Forearm Stretch

Simple arm stretches can keep serious health issues away. (Image via Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto)

To stretch out the forearms and wrists, nothing beats a simple fingers up and fingers down stretch. It doesn't have a name in yoga, but this exercise can be very helpful if you sit in front of a computer all day.

How to do a forearm stretch:

Place your right arm in front of you, making sure it stays at shoulder height.
Try pulling back on the fingers of your right hand with your left.
Breathe and hold this stretch for at least three deep breaths.
Relax your hand, and let your wrist go limp as you pull on the back of your hand.
Breathe at least three times, keeping your fingers relaxed.

Some of the aforementioned stretches may seem a bit simplistic, but incorporating them into your day can help keep the arms free of problems like carpal tunnel and tendinitis. Arm stretches are easily done and can be built into your daily routine in less than half an hour.

Edited by
Bhargav