As I am now in my sixties, I have now realised that stretching for senior athletes is immensely important and I do a lot of flexibility exercises, regardless of the fact that I once had a world champion physique. If I didn’t follow a stretching routine, I would appear very stiff and robotic. I would also be susceptible to a lot of unnecessary injuries and I hate being out of action! In this article, I would like to talk about stretching for senior athletes.

Every morning, I perform a range of stretching and flexibility exercises and this in turn stretches out my muscles, tendons and ligaments. This is something all of the top athletes do and it is even more important for senior sports people to do this! Here are the exercises that I do each day:

1. Hamstring Stretches – This is where I will sit on the floor with my legs together and straight in front of me. I will then lean forward and touch my toes (ankles to start with if I’m really stiff). I will hold this position for 30 seconds and then relax for 5 seconds. I will perform this stretch two times for 30 seconds each.
2. Quad Stretches – This is where I will support myself whilst fully bending one leg behind me, whilst holding my foot with my free hand. I will gently pull my foot back to really stretch the quad muscles and I’ll hold this stretch for 30 seconds. After a brief relaxation, I will stretch the same leg for another 30 seconds. Then, I will switch legs and stretch the other quadricep muscle two times, for 30 seconds each.
3. Sumo Squat Stretch – This is where I will squat as low as possible, with my legs wide apart and my arms dangling in front of me. This allows me to stretch my quads, glutes and adductor (groin) muscles. I hold this position for 30 seconds and I do this movement for a total of two times.
4. Chest Stretches – This is where I will stand with my feet around shoulder-width apart and my arms in a crucifix position, though slightly bent. I will then swing both arms inwards, towards the opposite direction, so that my pectoral muscles stretch as my arms cross over each other. As I wave my arms back and forth, I alternate which arm crosses above the other. I do this stretch for two times 30 seconds with a 5 second rest in between.
5. Across Shoulder Stretch – This is where I stretch one arm across my body, whilst locking it with the other arm in a 90 degree arm lock. I hold this for 30 seconds and repeat after a 5 second rest/pause. I then switch arms and perform two lots of thirty seconds on the other shoulder.
6. Triceps Overhead Stretch – This is where I point one arm directly at the ceiling and bend it at the elbow as far as possible behind my back. I will then gently push my elbow with my free hand so that my triceps muscle gets a nice stretch. My elbow is always pointing directly up during this stretch and I hold it for two lots of 30 seconds. I then repeat the same two sets on the alternate arm.
7. Hip Flexor Stretch – This is where I assume a single leg lunge position and while one leg is in front of me at 90 degrees, the other leg stretches behind me, bent at the knee. Both arms are pointing straight up at the ceiling during this movement. After two lots of 30 seconds, I switch legs and do the same for the other side.
8. Knee Across Body – This is where I lay flat on my back, with my arms resting outstretched, in a crucifix position. With my knees bent at around 90 degrees, I rotate both knees to one side so that they touch the floor. I hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat on the same side. Once I have finished, I repeat the exercise by rotating my knees to the opposite side. This exercise really stretches the lower back muscles.
9. Glute Stretch – This is where I sit on the floor, with my upper body 90 degrees to my legs. I keep one leg straight, while I bend my other knee to around 90 degrees. I then use both hands to gently pull by knee back and thus stretch my glute muscles. After two lots of 30 seconds, I switch legs and do the same for the other side.

If any of these descriptions seem a bit confusing, simply search for the bold title on YouTube and you’ll see a demonstration of how each exercise is performed.

After completing my flexibility exercises each morning, I feel completely energised and ready to face anything that the day has to throw at me. I cannot emphasise how important Stretching for Senior Athletes is.