Best Cool Down Exercises to Recover and Stretch After a Workout

 

Up Dog


Good for: chest, shoulders, abs

How to do it: There are few ways to enter this stretch. For starters, you can begin in a down dog position to get an extra hamstring stretch: Start on all fours then hike your butt up and back as your heels come down toward the floor, head through your arms. Inhale. As you exhale, drop your hips toward the floor (but don’t let them come all the way down) and look to the sky. Let the tops of your feet rest on the floor. Hold. You can also enter this pose from a lying position: Start on your stomach with your elbows bent and your hands by your waist. Press up as your bring your torso off the floor. Let the legs lift up a bit as well and hold.

Plank to Scorpion Reach


Good for: shoulders, spine, hips

How to do it: Get into a straight-arm plank position. Inhale and draw your right knee as far to your left wrist as you can. Next, exhale and drive that right leg up and back behind you, as you drop your head through your arms. Do as many slow and controlled reps as you desire, then repeat this on the left leg.