Calf Stretches

Face a wall or counter and place your hands on it for support. Bring one leg back about 2 to 3 feet, with the foot flat on the ground and pointed straight forward. Bring your weight forward over the front leg, keeping the knee of the back leg straight and your back heel flat on the ground (see figure 5.13a). This exercise will stretch the gastrocnemius. To stretch the soleus muscle, bend the back knee, still keeping your foot flat on the ground (see figure 5.13b). Repeat this sequence with the opposite leg.

Figure 5.13 Calf stretches for (a) the gastrocnemius and (b) the soleus.

The upper body muscles that normally need stretching are the anterior shoulder and the internal rotator muscles. These stretches are usually done while standing, and most of them use a wall, doorway, or counter to assist with the stretch. Each exercise stretches the muscles in a slightly different way. I do not recommend a specific order - find the order that you prefer for whichever muscles are tight.