Q&A for How to Stretch Your Legs

Perform stretches when your muscles are already warmed up and pliable. For instance, if you are stretching before a run, walk for about 5-10 minutes before performing your warm-up stretches to increase circulation to your muscles and to prevent injury.

Stretching is the best way to loosen tight leg muscles. You can also try some massage or using a foam roller.

Maybe a little. Regular stretching will help you make more progress.

Not unless the leg length discrepancy is due to some seriously tight muscles on one side of your body.

Try putting your arms up above your head and taking deep breaths, breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth.

Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your feet together. Hold your ankles and put your elbows on your legs. Push your legs towards the floor using your elbows. When you can get both legs flat on the floor, bring your feet closer to your crotch and repeat until you're as close as you can get. Another idea is to stand with your legs as far apart as you can get them without it hurting. Put your hands on the floor. Walk your hands back until they're in line with your feet. Repeat using elbows, then head. Repeat with your legs slightly further apart. When you can go a lot lower than before: Put your hands on the floor in line with your feet. Rock onto your heels and push yourself lower.

You should stop before the point of the discomfort reaching pain. Stretch daily, going a little farther each time.

Generally you need exercise to tone your legs. Stretching won't hurt, but you won't see big results with stretching alone.

This depends upon your current flexibility, how much stretching you do over the five weeks, and the types of stretching done. It can range from very little flexibility to a lot.

It doesn't really matter how old you are. You should stretch for at least 15 minutes a day.

Warm up longer. Do 10 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of stretching before running.

Stretching and yoga yield a variety of benefits, including relief from chronic and acute conditions. They also provide increased flexibility and range of motion, better circulation, relaxation, improved posture, and sometimes even weight loss.

No, it doesn't. You are just stretching the muscles, which doesn't make your legs longer.

Eat a banana, the potassium alleviates muscle cramps. Try a heating pad on the cramp, and a bath in Epsom salts can help.

If you want flexibility in the legs, you should try gymnastics. You don't have to learn flips and handstands if you don't want to, but you will learn how to be more flexible in your legs and the rest of your body.

Any type of music will work. Try for something a bit upbeat and encouraging! If you are trying to stay focused though, try ballet music or classical music.

Trying to crack your legs on your own can be dangerous, so it's best to leave it to the professionals. If you must, doing the right stretches will crack them and relieve the tension.

You can try stretching it, and applying heat and ice. If this does not help, you should seek professional medical advice from a doctor.

Nothing is achieved without pain. "No pain, no gain" is actually a fact where exercise is concerned. That said, if you have genuine pain (rather than the mild discomfort that should come with gentle stretching), you may want to see a doctor.

No, because the reason you have leg cramps is because your leg doesn't have enough sodium potassium. So, It's best to drink pickle juice, because pickle juice (or relish) has the right amount of sodium and potassium to stop cramps. If that doesn't work, it's probably because you have your leg in a position to where it cramps up.

Most likely this is just an issue with you not clenching those muscles tightly enough to keep them in place, so practice holding your knees close to your body while completing the exercises. If the issue continues, you may want to see a doctor and consider PT.

Do not injure yourself! Stretch deeper into the stretch until you feel a little bit of pain, then hold it for 10-15 seconds, or until you feel the muscle stretch out. Do each stretch on each leg 3-4 times. If you find that you're always in pain when you're stretching, take a break for a few days, or consult your doctor.

It's fine to stretch the day before, but you should still stretch right before the race as well.

No, stretching won't increase your leg size.

The debate on what is and isn't a good stretch is raging. If it feels good to you, then sure. However, squats are a dynamic exercise that builds strength, so after you do these squats, you'll need to... stretch. If you're stretching in the position of a Bulgarian squat, then sure. I find it difficult to keep my balance in this position, requiring me to constantly adjust myself, reducing the time I can actually stretch here.

It's never too late to become flexible, but it does get more difficult with age. As we get older, our tendons become more rigid, and the muscles and joints that allow for easy mobility become stiffer. So, the sooner you begin stretching, the better and 25 is just fine.