Have you ever went hiking only to find that an hour or so after you start your knees are not feeling to great?

My husband and I go to Sedona every year for vacation. We hike and climb 5 out of 7 days doing from 4 to 6 hours of hiking. This year day we set out to hike climb cathedral rock. We stay on the trail until we get high enough and then climb up. So, this is what hiking in Sedona taught me about stretching. An hour or so into the hike not one but both of my knees were feeling the love. I told my husband I have to stop and stretch. I stretched about 5 minutes and WOW what a difference. No pain! No kidding! I know how important stretching is but I was amazed that I could go from pain to no pain in 5 minutes. Now I will always stretch before hiking anywhere. Of course, some people may find that stretching helps their limbs, but their feet hurt after. I have a friend who invested in a foot massager (kind of like the ones seen at https://serp.co/best/foot-massager/) and that helped them with that. Your mileage may vary, though!

In any case, here are the stretches that I did that worked miracles on my achy knees. Do them before and after you hike.

This is a quad stretch that stretches the front of your upper thigh. Keep you body upright and flex your foot toward the ground.

This hip stretch helped my husbands hips. He doesn’t walk or hike too much at home so when we go hiking on vacation he has pain in his hips for the first couple of days. You can use your hiking partner for balance on this one if you need to.

We all know about the hamstrings, the back of the upper leg. They can get tight!

This calf stretch feels great. Leaning forward try to keep the back heel on the ground.

Don’t forget about the upper body. This is for the obliques (sides) and for the lats (back).

This one just feels good! Stretches the back and hamstrings at the same time.

Great stretch for the front of the upper body. It stretches the chest, shoulders, and arms.

This stretch is for the hip flexors and if your arm is up and over you will also stretch your back and sides.

Make sure you get up slowly from this stretch. Do a couple of breaths while in the down position.

Hiking and stretching in Sedona is the best! Let me know what stretches work for you. You can also go to http://elitephysiquesinc.com/2014/08/thai-yoga-massage-video-4-stretches-cant-live-without/ to learn some Tai Yoga Stretches you can do with a partner.

Happy stretching and stay fit!

Sherry Macdonald