Incorporating some stretching and conditioning exercises into your schedule will help in so many aspects of life- it will improve flexibility, reduce tightness, give you more energy, and allow you to perform better in sports or other recreational activities. Here are several simple and effective at-home stretching and conditioning workouts from birdies and bows for you to try.

Jump Rope

This is one of our favorites, because contrary to the name of the title, it doesn’t actually require any jump ropes. The motion of jump roping is actually enough to keep your heart rate up. Here are some tips:

• keep your feet as close together as possible when jumping
• land softly
• Keep your jumping height low, getting high off of the ground won’t do anything for you
• Keep your knees slightly bent at all times

Jump rope for 2-3 minutes and you’ll be sweating in no time.

Planks

We love to hate ‘em, but man are they great for you. Planks are simple, they require no equipment, and can be done in any time increment you like. We recommend starting with this one:

• 15-second plank
• Rest 15 seconds
• 30-second plank
• Rest 15 seconds
• 45-second plank
• Rest 15 seconds
  

  Plank Walk Out

  A variation on the plank, but with extra stretching in your calves and hamstrings.

   -Start standing

  - Bring your fingers as close to your toes as possible while you touch the ground.

  -Slowly walk your hands outward as you keep both feet on the ground.

  -Once you’ve walked your hands out far enough to reach a plank position, bend your arms so that you’re resting on your forearms.

  -plank!
  
  It’s best to walk out as slowly as possible so you can feel that stretch.
  
  

  Sun Salutation

  We’re borrowing from the yoga world for this one. Sun salutations are a great way to stretch your whole body. Here’s how you do it:

  -Stand up tall with your palms together in front of your chest.

  - Inhale and sweep your arms out and extend them overhead, shoulder-distance apart while you gaze toward the ceiling (remember to keep your shoulder blades down).

  - Exhale while you hinge at your hips into a standing forward fold and put your hands as close to your feet as possible.
  
  
  

  Windmills

  Windmills are great for both stretching and conditioning if you do them correctly. Grab some weights, 2 cans of corn, or go weight-free for this one. Here’s how you do it:

   

  • Stand with your feet a little farther than shoulders width apart.
  • Put your arms straight out on either side (as if you were making a ‘t’).
  • Bring your left hand to your right foot, then go back to the starting position.
  • Repeat, but now bring your right hand to your left foot.

   

  Make sure that you go slowly to enhance the stretch, and don’t forget to activate your core.

  Just remember, you don’t need a fancy gym membership or high-tech equipment to complete a stretching and conditioning workout that will help improve your day-to-day life.