Focus T25 Day 7: Stretch

It felt so good to stretch and rest my muscles today!  Some stretch workouts can seem to drag on or end up being more of a workout than a rest, but this workout was perfect.  It was just what I needed to get my body ready for another week of tough, challenging workouts.  The pace of this stretch workout is fast but I still felt like each muscle was stretched thoroughly and, as with all of the T25 workouts, this one went by very quickly.

Workout:  Stretch
Time:  25 minutes
Equipment:  mat (optional and you're only on the floor for a few of the movements)

Each of the moves is held for 30 seconds.

• Alternating Knee Hold (bring the knee in towards the chest, left then right)
• Knee Hold (hold up the left knee and then the right)

• Straight Leg Kick (kick your left leg up to your waist and touch the toe with the opposite hand, then switch legs)
• Straight Leg Stretch (put your left leg down on the ground, toes up, and touch your toe with the opposite hand, switch legs)

• Squat Hip Flexor-L (go into a squat position, then stretch the left leg back, hands on the right knee, repeat)
• Hip Flexor Hold-L (with leg back, hold the hip flexor stretch, hands on right knee)
• Hands Up Hip Flexor Hold-L (same as above, but lift your arms up; here Shaun asks you to contract your glutes, then release, to get deeper into the stretch)
• Squat Hip Flexor-R (same as above but with the right leg back)
• Hip Flexor Hold-R
• Hands Up Hip Flexor Hold-R 

• Lateral Lunge-L (step your left leg out, keeping your right leg straight and touch your left toe with your right hand)
• Lateral Lunge Hold-L (in the lunge position, bring your arms together in front of you in a "genie" position and rest your head on your hands, making sure to keep your right leg straight) 
• Center Hold (come to the center and bring your hands to the floor, releasing the lower back)
• Lateral Lunge-R
• Lateral Lunge Hold-R
• Center Hold

• Cradle Knee Hug-L (standing tall, bring your left foot up to your right hip and hold your left knee--takes a lot of balance and control)
• Prayer Hands-L (lower your left ankle onto your right knee and bring your hands into prayer at the chest--more balance and core control)
• Cradle Knee Hug-R
• Prayer Hands-R

• Flat Back V (arms lift up by your arms, bend at the waist and go into a hold with the arms still by your ears)
• Torso Twist (put your left hand down to the ground, right hand up to the sky, switch sides)

• Cat Cow (standing, put your hands on your knees and round your back, then lift your chest towards the sky, repeat several times)
• Elbow Squat Hold (push your elbows into your knees and try to push your knees in at the same time to get a good hip stretch)

• Downward Dog Knee In-L (in downward dog position, lift up the left leg straight and then bring the knee to the left elbow, repeat)
• Downward Dog Calf Stretch-L (bring the left leg back straight, cross the right leg over at the ankle, and push the left calf into the ground)
• Downward Dog Knee In-R (repeat on other leg)
• Downward Dog Calf Stretch-R

• Child's Pose (knees slightly apart, tops of the feet on the ground, push your glutes towards your heels and stretch your arms as far in front of you as you can; you should really feel this in your lower back)
• Table Top (on all fours, lift your left arm, stretch it out as far in front of you as you can, bring the shoulder back into alignment, then down, repeat on other arm)
• Spider Stretch (in plank position, bring the left leg up to the left foot, switch and repeat on the right leg)

• Low Pigeon-L (this is one of my favorite stretches:  with your right leg back straight behind you, bend your left leg under you and lower down to the ground; you will really feel this in your glutes!)
• S Stretch-L (S for Shaun T, of course!  sit up, keep your left leg bent and bend your right leg back slightly, then press against your left knee and turn to the left to feel the stretch in your spine)
• Quad Stretch-L (turn back towards the center and grab your right foot, pulling it in towards your body to feel a stretch in the front of your leg)
• High Pigeon-L (back to starting position, but stay up high, arms straight, try to get your glutes as close to the ground as you can)
• Low Pigeon-R
• S Stretch-R
• Quad Stretch-L
• High Pigeon-L

• Bent Knee Hip Up (on your back, feet on the ground and knees bend, push your hips up as high as you can, lower to the ground, repeat)
• Hip Up Hold (same as before, except interlock your fingers underneath you and keep your hips as high as you can)

• Single Leg Knee Hold (bring your left leg into your chest keeping the right leg straight and foot flexed, switch legs)
• Double Leg Knee Hold (both knees in this time)
• Knee Crossover Hold (bring your left ankle to your right knee and bring your knee into your chest, pushing against your left knee and then releasing to get deeper into the stretch; after 30 seconds, switch to the right leg; this is the move Autumn does in 21 Day Fix and it feels so good, especially after working that one leg in Pilates-whew!  great stretch!)

This workout is really great for stretching out the body, and, like I said before, this is a true rest/stretch workout unlike some that still have your working the muscles.  I would do this any time you needed a good stretch!  Sometimes we don't even realize how tight our muscles are until we start stretching.

In my last review I mentioned that these are all of the workouts for month 1 of T25.  I will be doing Cardio tomorrow to continue with the schedule, but I will start my reviews of Insanity: Max 30 or Insanity, I haven't decided which!  Stay tuned!