Improve Your Upper Body Flexibility By Doing These Arm Stretches At Home

Stretching feels oh-so-soothing post-workout or even after sitting on your butt all day. Finding the perfect pose that seems to ease just the right tight spot can instantly calm the mind and offer a deep sigh of physical relief. That’s especially true when you score a sweet upper-body stretch that opens the chest and counteracts our typically hunched-over stance.

While research goes back and forth as to whether stretching can prevent injury and some science

says holding static poses can actually hinder workout performance when done pre-sweat, that doesn’t mean you need to skip the ah-mazing release—flexibility is still an important piece of the fitness puzzle.

“When we talk about fitness, we often talk about cardio or aerobic training, strength, and balance. Another key component to fitness is being flexible—flexibility allows you to move,” says Laura Perry, DPT, CSCS, physical therapist at Impact Physical Therapy in Hillsboro, Oreg. “Flexibility is just as important as strength, stability, and balance, when looking at overall wellness and fitness.”

What’s more: “Stretching is super important for alignment and it helps improve range of motion at a joint,” says Rachel Tavel, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist at Shift Integrative Medicine. “If you don’t have the range of motion, you might not have the full mobility you need to perform activity.” If the chest is super tight and you don’t have mobility in the spine, it’s difficult to stand up straight or even lift your arms overhead—and that’s where stretching comes in handy.

To help you hit the money spot when it comes to adding mobility to typically unmalleable muscles, here are 12 arm stretches trainers and physical therapists swear by. The gold standard in holding each pose is 30 seconds so aim to settle into each stretch, breathing into the areas of the body that feel tightest. (Perry suggests that for every 30 minutes you’re sitting, standing, or staying in any one position all day, you take 30 seconds to move or bend.)

If you experience pain, though, stop. Don’t try to push through unbearable discomfort (totally not worth the risk of overdoing it). To