The 30-Day Push-Up Challenge helps you master your form, discover new variations and build up to doing 60 push-ups in one day. Click here for all the details on the challenge.
Biceps and triceps, high-intensity and recovery, warm-up and cooldown: You need opposites for a balanced workout routine. So if you've been busting out a bunch of reps for our 30-Day Push-Up Challenge, you need to stretch the muscles you've been strengthening.
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By Week 3, you'll certainly need it. Just look at the line-up for the next seven days:
- Challenge Day 15: rest
- Challenge Day 16: 31 push-ups
- Challenge Day 17: 33 push-ups
- Challenge Day 18: 35 push-ups
- Challenge Day 19: 37 push-ups
- Challenge Day 21: 39 push-ups
- Challenge Day 21: 41 push-ups
If your arms, shoulders and/or chest muscles need a little relief, below, Maillard Howell, personal trainer, CrossFit level 2 coach and owner of Dean CrossFit in Brooklyn, NY, demonstrates some of the best upper-body stretches you can do to ease muscle soreness after doing daily push-ups.
Move 1: Wrist Stretch
- Grab the fingers of your right hand with your left hand.
- Extend your right arm straight, palm facing out and fingers pointing down, then gently pull back on your fingers.
- Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
- Flip your palm to face you.
- Gently pull and hold in this position for another 15 to 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other wrist.
Tip
You can also do this stretch with your fingers pointing up.
Move 2: Wall Chest Stretch
- Stand about a foot away from a wall, pole or other immovable surface.
- Place your right hand on the wall (or grab the pole) and twist away, keeping your hand in place.
- Keep twisting away from the wall until you feel the stretch through your chest and into your shoulder.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
Move 3: Chest and Shoulder Stretch
- Grab your hands behind your back.
- Keep your arms straight (but don't lock your elbows) as you lift your hands up until you feel a gentle stretch in your chest and shoulders.
- Play around with the position and height of your hands until you feel the stretch where you feel the soreness.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
Move 4: Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch
- Pull your right arm across your chest and hold it in place with your left hand.
- Use your left hand to gently pull it closer to your chest and further to the left.
- Hold for 30 seconds before switching sides.
Move 5: Triceps Stretch
- Raise your right arm overhead and bend at the elbow so that your right hand touches your back.
- Use your left hand to pull your elbow further to the left so that you feel a stretch in the back of your right upper arm (triceps).
- Hold for 30 seconds before switching sides.
Move 6: Wrist Mobility
- Hold your hands out in front of you and roll your wrists in circles that move out to the side.
- Switch to make circles going inward.
- Flex and extend your wrists.
- Keep moving your wrists around in ways that feel good and put them through their full range of motion.
Move 7: Foam Rolling
Though some people may consider the foam roller more of a modern torture device than a recovery tool, as long as you're feeling discomfort and not pain, this humble piece of equipment can help ease muscle soreness and prep you for your next batch of push-ups.
Place the body part where you’re feeling sore — upper back, chest, obliques — on the roller and apply gentle pressure as you roll it out, staying put on any spot that feels particularly tender.