Can you stretch the shoulders and stomach together? It's a good question, and raises the point that a lot of stretching actually works various areas, not just a single muscle or muscle group.
Indeed, scanning the literature, you'll often find the same exercise listed on different websites for different muscles!
A more integrated approach to flexibility will yield better results, ensuring that you do indeed work the entire body, rather than just a few hand-picked muscles.
Combining a shoulder and stomach stretch is actually quite easy. The movement is performed as follows:
- This exercise requires a bar or counter top somewhere between waist and shoulder height.
- Stand about a metre (three feet) away from the bar.
- Lean forward and rest your fingertips on the counter/bar.
- Lean down until you feel a tightness.
This actually works many areas of the upper body, from the lats to the deltoids, abs to triceps, and is thus an excellent all around movement. You can even do it in a doorway, reaching up to rest your fingers on the top of the doorframe - this will work your abs more than the horizontal version.
