Arm stretches

Stretching may seem like something only athletic persons do to limber up their muscles before jumping into competition, but it is extremely important for all of us to do no matter how active or inactive you tend to be.

Stretching improves flexibility. Flexibility improves your daily performance by expanding the ability of what you can do (bending over to pick up objects, lifting, reaching, etc.) and improving your coordination. Coordination is important in all aspects of life, but as gamer’s we know the importance of being able to react quickly and skillfully as we play.

Stretching can also improve your circulation, increasing blood flow to muscles. In turn this brings in nourishment and expels the waste of byproducts in the muscle tissue. It can also help shorten recovery time if you have muscle injuries.

Arm stretches like this will help improve the mobility of your arm movements without risk of energy. It can also improve coordination (good for gaming) and circulation. This exercise also expands your rib cage, allowing you to breathe easier and fuller.

• Raise your arms straight above your head.
• Interlace your fingers.
• With fingers interlaced turn your palms towards the ceiling, hold.
• With fingers interlaced turn your palms towards the floor, hold.
• Stretch and breathe.
• Stretch your arms out in front and relax your shoulders.

And here's another arm stretch for good measure.

• Interlace your fingers behind your back.
• Gently bend forward.
• Stretch your hands and arms up and back.
• Breathe into the stretch.
• Return to standing straight and gently release arms.

A basic static stretch – holding the pose for an extended period – should last about 30 seconds. Anything less than 20 seconds won’t make a significant difference in lengthening muscle fibers and tissue; hold too long and you risk injury.