We hope that Christmas has been fun and that you have found time to be active.

The last stretch we will look at is the calf stretch, again, a must stretch for most active people, athletes and sports people.

The most simple way to stretch the calves is to find a supporting wall. Take a step back with one leg and simply press your heel gently to the floor whilst leaning into the wall with outstretched arms.

Hold for up to one minute and repeat on the other leg.

An easy way to stretch these is to bend down on one knee and engage core muscles. Keep your upper body tall as you do this stretch and simply tilt your pelvis slightly under creating a stretch on the front of the hip of the leg with the knee on the floor.

Hold for up to one minute.

This stretch is great for triathletes, runners and cyclists post training.

Stand tall and raise hand above the head, squeezing your ears with your arms and link your hands above your head.

Simply “reach for the sky”as Woody(Toy Story) might say! You should feel a really nice stretch around your armpits and into the shoulder blade area.

If you bend slightly to one side you will increase the stretch on that side of the body and also might feel it in the lower back/hip area also.

Repeat other side and hold all three stretches for up to one minute.

These really are feel good stretches to be done at any time of the day.

Stand as before but straighten your arm with your hand against the door frame, or wall. Firstly have your palm facing the door frame and stretch for 30 secs to 1 minute then turn your hand the other way so the back of your hand is facing the dorr frame and repeat the stretch sequence.

Repeat with other arm.

It is good for triathletes and cyclists to perform stretches like this also after swimming and cycling and running!

We have also looked at the plank and this is also a good stretch to do post planking.

Stand tall and engage your core muscles. Place your forearm against a corner surface such as a door or wall corner, with your elbow at shoulder height and at 90 degrees. Very gently apply a small amount of pressure through your forearm and rotate away from the wall/door. This needs to be done extremely gently and slowly till you feel a mild stretch.

Hold for 30 secs to 1 minute and repeat on other side.

This is quite a big progression from yesterday so be very sure you are feeling very stable in the floor plank before attempting this.

Place your elbows on the ball, making sure they are shoulder width apart with the elbows directly under the shoulders.

Engage the core as before and set the shoulder blades as before too.

Maintain a neutral body position but the body will not be parallel to the floor here. However we are aiming to keep the back straight with no dipping of the hips or lower back.

Hold for 5 secs to start and progress slowly till you can safely hold for 1 minute.

This will contract your abs without having to do any kind of movement, for this exercise involves an isometric (static)contraction.

It is important to set the position up correctly to begin with.

Start with arms bent with elbows and lower arm upon the ground parallel to one another with the elbow directly beneath the shoulder. Draw in your navel slightly, draw your shoulder blades together and down towards your hips and lightly contract your backside muscles (glutes)  and lift your knees off the floor. Make sure feet are hip-width apart, and you want to ensure your body position is straight. The body should be parallel with the floor. Keep the abdomen steady and do not allow the lower back to drop to the floor, also keep your head in line with your spine. Hold for desired amount of time.

This is an exercise that, when done improperly, can cause lower back pain. Be careful that as you are holding the position you find a position that allows your lower back not to hurt while still working your abs, while too staying in a straight (or neutral ) posture. If this is too difficult, begin this exercise with knees on the floor.

Hold the position for 5 secs to begin and gradually increase the amount of time you can hold the position for – up to 1 minute.

Yesterday we looked at a seated hamstring stretch that can be done anywhere that you can sit.

today we look at a supine(or back laying) hamstring stretch. Stick to yesterdays stretch if you have difficulty getting up and down off the floor or if you know your flexibility through your lower back is limited.

So – lay on your back and set your pelvis in a neutral position(you should imagine you could balance a cup of coffee on your pelvis without it tipping in any direction). Your pelvis should stay in this position throughout.

Lift a leg and take hold of the leg either just above the knee or just below the knee and gently pull to a vertical position, or as far as feels comfortable maintaining your neutral pelvis position.

Hold for 30 secs – 45 secs each leg.

Sit on a chair or stability ball.

Sit tall and engage core muscles. Straighten out one leg in front of you and simply lean forward over the leg, chest pushed forward, head up and slightly extend through your back.

Hold the stretch for up to 1 min.