As we age, we have to be smarter about how we move. If we do too much, we might feel a little sore or stiff. That doesn’t mean we have to do less, but it does mean we need to stretch if we want to loosen those tight (stiff) muscles and feels better.

These are 3 of the best stretches for women over 50 who want to:

• Loosen tightness in your lower back and eliminate your low back pain

• Open up your chest and shoulders while stretching out your neck

• Increase flexibility in your hips

I refer to these stretches as Ab Windshield Wipers and encourage all of my clients to do them regularly. The order of the stretches matters because each stretch allows you to lengthen muscles more deeply.

I’ve provided a video with all three of the stretches and I’ve written out the steps to each of the ab windshield wipers (below the video).

As with any other stretch, you should not feel any pain while you are completing these movements. It is likely however, that you will feel a little bit of discomfort as your tight muscles stretch out and relax.

Overall, these stretches should feel really good when done correctly and you should feel relief in your low back, hips, shoulders and chest.

You can complete these movements daily and even multiple times per day if desired. They are great stretches to loosen tightness within your body throughout your day.

CAUTION:

If you have a pre existing back condition, have any concerns about completing these movements, or feel any pain when doing them, STOP IMMEDIATELY and consult with your doctor.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Ab Windshield Wiper # 1:

• Lie on your back on a mat or soft carpet with your knees bent and feet and knees together. Relax your arms out to your sides with your palms facing upwards.

• Notice the space between your lower back and the floor while you’re resting there. Slowly pull your belly button towards the floor to reduce or eliminate that space and tighten your abs. (Imaging a big dog ran into the room while you were doing this and it was about the jump onto your stomach. This “bracing” while pulling in your belly button is how you tighten your abs.)

• Use your abs to slowly lower your knees to your left while keeping your feet and knees together. Gently roll your head toward your right and relax all body parts while breathing slowly in for a count of 3-5 seconds and out for a count of 4-6 seconds.

• Body scan while you’re breathing and notice where you feel tightness, where the stretch feels good, where you are relaxed and where you find yourself wanting to tense muscles (without meaning to).

• Contract your abs and bring your knees back to center and repeat on the other side. Hold each stretch for 30 - 60 seconds.

• If you feel very tight while completing these movement, repeat them one or two more times before moving on to #2.

Ab Windshield Wiper # 2:

• While still lying on your back, bring your legs into a “tabletop” position. This means that your knees are over your hips and your shins are the table (parallel to the floor). Arms stay relaxed at your sides with palms facing upwards.

• Contract your abs and slowly lower your legs to one side. Gently roll your neck to the opposite side of your knees.

• Breath and body scan (as described above) for 30 to 60 seconds and and then contract your abs to lift your legs and feet back to your starting position.

• Repeat on the other side.

  Note: This movement is harder than #1 because you’re lifting more of your body weight to and from the ground. If your abs need some help, press your arm (that’s on the same side as your leg) into the ground to help lift your legs back to your start position. You can also bend your knees more as you lift your legs off the ground, so your feet are closer to your butt.

Ab Windshield Wiper # 3 (with band leg stretch):

• while continuing to lie on the ground, put a band or yoga strap around your left foot and gently straighten this leg. If your hamstrings (back top of your leg) are very tight, keep your right leg bent with your foot on the floor. If you have good range of motion with the banded leg (left in this case), keep your opposite leg straight on the floor.

• Focus on the stretch in your calf and hamstring as you relax your shoulders while holding the band with two hands. Your biceps are doing the work here with a little bit of help from your abs.

• While still stretching your left leg, transfer the band to your right hand and slowly lower your left leg across your body to the ground. Keep your abs engaged and release the tension on the band as needed to allow your body to stretch without feeling too much discomfort.

• Once your leg is resting on the ground, you can pull gently on the band to see if your body wants a little bit more of a stretch, or not.

• Hold for 30 to 60 seconds while body scanning and trying to relax, then contract your abs and slowly lift the left leg back to starting position with help from the band. You can also bend your knee to get this leg up more easily if you abs are not quite strong enough to do so yet.

• Repeat this process with your right leg.

When you’re done with all 3 of the ab windshield wiper stretches, gently pull your knees into your chest and hold them there with your hands to further release any tension in your low back.