The stretches you should be doing after hiking and baby carrying

You’ve finished your hike, you’ve taken your little one out the carrier, put them in the buggy or car, or they’ve ran off somewhere. You’ve got them back, unloaded everything and just carry on with your busy life.

Yes we’ve all done that, I’ve done that many times, but I’m asking you to take 2 minutes after to stretch your upper body. You don’t need to do it straight away, you can stretch when you get back home, when the kids are strapped in the car, before you go to bed. But I promise you you’ll feel the benefits if you do.

Passive stretching

Stretching has many benefits for us, but there are a few different types. I’m going to focus on static passive stretching after a workout/exercise, in this case, hiking.

Static stretching involves taking a specific muscle to the point where you feel the stretch sensation, this is when the muscle is at it’s longest. It shouldn’t be painful but you may feel discomfort.

Ideally you hold this for 20 - 30 seconds to feel the discomfort slightly ease away. This is known as static passive stretching and is probably the one you are most used to seeing and doing.

The benefits of this type of stretching afterwards include:

• Improved circulation around the body - enhancing your body’s ability to recover and reduce your muscles feeling sore

• Mentally preparse you back to your resting state

• Helps improve posture - a really important one after carrying your baby/toddler!

• Improves flexibility of the muscle - a long muscle is a strong muscle!

• Improves range of motion at that specific joint - helps to decrease the risk of injury and improves robustness

So now we know the benefits of stretching, here are a few you can do after a hike:

Quadriceps stretch - the quadriceps are the powerhouse at the front of your legs and will do most of the work when you are climbing uphill.

Hamstring stretch - the hamstrings are the powerhouse at the back of your legs and will help to keep your posterior chain strong.

Calf stretch - the calves (gastrocnemius and soleus) will be working the whole time you are walking and hiking. It is really important to not overload these muscles as you will definitely be feeling sore afterwards!

A gentle calf stretch can alleviate the soreness and return the muscle to it's resting length.

Pectorals stretch - it may not feel like it, but your chest, and pectorals, will be working when baby carrying to stabilise and almost counterbalance, the strong back muscles.

Latissimus dorsi (side) stretch - this will feel really good after taking off the baby carrier as the lats are used to keep your posture strong and stable.

Upper back stretch - your upper body, shoulders and rhomboids will be working hard to counterbalance the weight of your baby or toddler on your back, so stretching this area will help to alleviate tension.

Need some help warming up before you do exercise or go on a hike? Read about warming up here.