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Friday Fit Tip: Shoulder stretches with a towel

Almost anyone can use a hand towel to help increase mobility both in the shoulders and upper back.

INDIANAPOLIS — This week's Friday Fit Tip focuses on movements for seniors because how you move can change depending on what season of life you're in. But anybody can actually benefit from this week's movement.

Jordan Estes at Lifetime Fitness has a great exercise that's simple, using only a towel.

Almost anyone can use a hand towel, he said, to help increase mobility both in the shoulders and our lat muscles of the upper back.

"The first step," Estes demonstrated, "you want to...grab the towel with one hand. We want to drape it over the top of our shoulder. Now, with your other hand, you want to reach back and grab [the bottom of the dangling towel]." 

"With that bottom hand," he continued, "we're going to pull down so you get a nice stretch." 

Why do we want to do this?

Estes said the towel stretch increases your overall mobility so that when you are in the gym exercising or doing physical activity, like reaching for something on a shelf at home, there will be less risk of injury. 

"It's just something that feels good," he said. "Kind of wakes you up and gets the blood flowing a little bit."

Estes recommends holding the stretch for about 15 seconds and no longer. If you do it a few times on each side, you should try to get a deeper stretch each time by pulling a little bit farther with your bottom hand. 

Grab a towel and get moving! That's your Friday Fit Tip. 

Watch Estes demonstrate the stretch in the video player.

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