Rest day stretching: an 8-minute routine for lifters

Rest days are where you recover from training, but resting doesn't have to mean sitting still. A walk and a few minutes of easy stretching keep you moving, ease stiffness, and give you a calm habit on the days you don't lift. Nothing here is hard enough to cut into your recovery.

Why move on a rest day

• Stiffness eases with movement. Gentle stretching and walking often make sore muscles feel better, even if they don't speed up repair.
• Flexibility builds with practice. Rest days are the best time for longer holds.
• It keeps the habit going. Something small on off days makes training days easier to start.

The 8-minute routine

Hold each stretch for 30 to 45 seconds, each side where it's one-sided. Breathe slowly and stay at a mild pull.

1. Cat and cow, slowly, 8 reps, to loosen your back.
2. Downward dog, pedalling your heels gently.
3. Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch, squeezing the glute of the back leg.
4. Pigeon or figure-four for your glutes and hips.
5. Lying hamstring stretch with a towel or band round your foot.
6. Doorway chest stretch for tight pecs and shoulders.
7. Thread the needle for your upper back.
8. Child's pose to finish, arms long.

Make it fit what you trained

If yesterday was leg day, spend more of the routine on hips, hamstrings, quads and calves. After an upper-body day, favour the chest, lats and shoulders. See how long muscles take to recover for how long each muscle needs.

Liftsmith does this on its own. On a rest day, Today's rest card offers Stretch today: about eight minutes of holds for what you trained in the last two days, or the whole body if you've had a break. A player times each one and tells you when to switch sides, and the Stretch library under Progress › All tools lets you pick any stretches you like, any day.