How To

Do This Stretch First Thing EVERY Morning (INSTANT RELIEF!)

Posted on by
08
May

If you wake up with stiff, tight muscles and wish there was a single simple stretch you could do that would make you feel amazing, you have come to the right video. Here I’m going to show you one simple stretch to do the first thing every single morning to loosen up your hips, back and shoulders that anyone can perform in just seconds.

The key to understanding the benefits of this morning stretch is to first take a look at what it is we are trying to undo from sleeping. In general, people sleep with their arms down at their sides all night. This will lead to tightness in the lat muscles that can only be relieved with a raising of the arms up overhead and out in front of the body.

The hip flexors tend to get very stiff and tight as well. This is because, as we sleep, the pelvis sinks into the soft mattress bringing our hips into slight flexion. At no point will the hips reach full extension let alone slight hyperextension, and therefore the need to really bend backwards and get that motion is extremely present when you first jump out of bed.

The next spot up the kinetic chain, the thoracic spine, is another place that tends to get stuck in a flexed position from the soft mattress. This is called kyphosis. Not a permanent one mind you, but one that is induced by sleeping on your back for 6, 8, 10 or even 12 hours a night. Spending too much time in this position is sure to create adaptive tightnesses that need to be addressed if you want to feel amazing within the first few minutes of waking.

Throw in the additional factor of a lack of thoracic rotation and you have one more thing you want to be sure you address in order to feel loose and spry. Sleeping on your side does not fix this issue. In general, when you sleep on your side you bring your hips along with you. This lack of differential between the hips and shoulders will do nothing to promote the healthy rotation through the thoracic spine that is needed to keep you feeling fully mobile and loose.

So what do you do? One simple morning stretch that is going to promote proper motion of all the joints mentioned above while at the same time activating the glutes (a chronically underactive muscle group) that can be done by anyone no matter what their age, strength or ability level. All you have to do is lay on the ground and do what is called a bridge reach over.

To perform the bridge reach over, bend the knees to about 90 degrees and dig your heels into the ground. Lift your butt up in a normal bridging motion and as you do, reach your right arm up and over your left shoulder (attempting to touch the ground with your hand). You will need to drive extra hard with the glute on the right leg to help you do this. By doing so however, you will find that you reach a level of full hip extension that you simply cannot achieve with a normal hip bridge.

Lower the hips and bring the arm back down to your side and immediately alternate to the opposite arm. Continue alternating reps, 5 to each side for 1-2 sets, and you will feel an immediate difference in how loose your joints and muscles feel. The bridge, as mentioned, will not only activate the glutes and get them to work in concert with the hamstrings but their activation will help you to reach further overhead to promote a better hip extension mobilization.

The thoracic spine extension and rotation is going to be assisted by the distance of your reach. Push up harder with the glutes, reach further with the hand, promote more thoracic extension and rotation of the mid and upper back. Throw in the extra stretch that you’re getting on your lats by the forward and elevated reach of the arm and you’ve got an incredible stretch that you can do every morning that will provide instant relief of stiff, tight muscles.

If you are looking for a complete program that approaches all elements of your training (stretching, training, nutrition, and supplementation) with the same science based approach and want to be able to do it at home without any equipment at all, click on the link below to check out our XERO program at athleanx.com.

For more videos on how to stretch properly and the best stretches for hamstrings and hip flexors, be sure to subscribe to our channel via the link below and turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.

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61 thoughts on “Do This Stretch First Thing EVERY Morning (INSTANT RELIEF!)”

  1. ATHLEAN-X™ says:

    *NEW “FAST ACTION” Q&A* – Leave your most burning question about this video or any other training, PT or nutrition question within the first 2 hours of this video’s release (AS A SEPARATE COMMENT!!) and I will pick 8 to get a detailed reply from me right here in the comments. Answers will be posted within the first 24-48 hours of you leaving the question. Good luck!

    • banchi -sama says:

      I don’t know how much calorie I should take and how much should I take whether I should loss weight or burn fat because I have a belly

    • lespaulsarecool says:

      Can you provide a day in the life

      Where you:

      Sleep 8 hours
      Do “do this everyday”
      Complete 8 hours work with min 30 min commute.
      Workout
      Eat

      And supress that nagging voice asking you to sit down/wife

    • Ovidiu Nistor says:

      @banchi -sama if you don’t or don’t like to count your calories (like me, i don’t like this), then try to eat less, don’t fill your dish or bowl, eat a lot of veggies and fruits, take more protein and do a lot of physical effort. On the internet you can find a calorie calculator, and can find your number of mentenance calories, to have a start point.

  3. BruiseLeeRoy says:

    Jeff: Hey guys when you wake up in the morning do you look like this?
    *Absolutely ripped Jeff getting out of bed*
    No Jeff…I don’t look like this :/

    • Sam Carvalho says:

      @Vegan Runner Two things I can count on: The sun will rise everyday, and regardless of how irrelevant it is, a vegan will always find someway to interject about their veganism

    • Vegan Runner says:

      @Sam Carvalho you’re absolutely right of course ! How do you know if someone’s a vegan ?……….don’t worry they’ll soon tell you ! oops sorry mentioned it again 🙁 i do lift weights also, which is much more relevent 🙂

  7. Rayne says:

    _”When you wake up in the morning, do you look like this?”_

    Uhhh, no. Definitely not.

    _”…I’m talking about the gyrations that I’m going through here.”_

    Oh.

  9. all about FIFA says:

    HI JEFF, MY MOM IS SUFFERING FORM SCIATICA PAIN. SHE HAS arthritis AND HAS A REPLACED HIP AND BOTH KNEES. SHE CANT BEND HER SELF TOO MUCH. SHE IS WALKING WITH THE HELP OF A WALKER. SHE GOT THE PAINBY DOING TOO MUCH HOUSEHOLD WORK. PLEASE SUGGEST SOME EXERCISES SHE SHOULD DO AND ACTS SHE SHOULD DO SO THAT THE PAIN GOES AWAY AND NEVER COMES BACK. PLEASE PLEASE REPLY, WE AS A FAMILY ARE VERY DISTURBED TO SEE HER IN AGONY.

  14. Animert Rex says:

    After adding this, my “do this every day routine” is now 29 hours and 31 minutes.
    My body fat level is 0.2 percent and my triceps have abs
    Thanks jeffcavaliereathleanxdotcom!

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