Stand up straight about one or two feet away from a solid wall. Hold your hands out in front of you and gradually reach for the wall. While supporting yourself position your whole body so it is tilted at an angle like in the diagram, you may have to move one leg from the position to enable a smooth transition into the position shown. Once in a comfortable position the leg can be placed back. Try to keep the feet pointing straight ahead in line with the lower leg and not with your toes pointing outwards. You should feel a slight stretch in the calf muscles of the lower legs. Hold this stretch for 20 -30 seconds. It would probably be best if you did one leg at a time (not shown) rather than the two together as shown in the above diagram.

Thigh Muscle

his is a popular stretch for the thighs / quadriceps muscles of the upper legs. It also helps loosen up the knee joint increasing its range of motion. In fact this stretch is often used to help people with knee problems. The Quadriceps muscles are used heavily during weight-bearing exercise so the thigh stretch should be performed before any walking or jogging exercise to lose weight.

Stand near a wall or secure structure for support while performing this stretch. Stable yourself with the right hand while lifting the right foot behind your back. Using the left hand reach and grab the right foot, hold the foot firmly. Stand straight with the thighs pointing down to the floor, and gently push the foot further towards the lower back until you feel the slight stretch in the quadriceps or thigh muscles of the upper right leg. Hold the stretch for 20 - 30 seconds. Swap to the opposite side and repeat the thigh stretch for the left leg. If you struggle with this stretch then just try to hold the foot behind the back and don't push any further. This should be a fairly easy stretch but if it hurts at all stop doing it.

Back of leg or Hamstring muscle

This stretch targets the hamstring muscles which are located at the back of the thighs. A hamstring stretch is particularly important if you intend to run to lose weight. If you start running three times per week then you'll need to make sure you are warmed up thoroughly before starting, for this reason you'll definitely need to do lots of hamstring stretches. Another version of the hamstring stretch is one where you bend over to touch the toes, this is a much more common stretch. I like this version as it allows you to wiggle the foot around at the same time helping to loosen up the ankle joint.

Be careful not to overstretch when warming up the hamstring muscles. Overstretching can put too much stress on the back of the knee.

Start by lying on an exercise mat with your knees bent, your feet together and flat on the floor. Lift your right leg so that it is almost perpendicular to the floor. If possible try to slowly lock the knee joint at this point, if that is easy then reach up with both hands and hold the leg in position for 20 seconds. If that is also easy, slowly pull the leg an inch further towards your head and hold. Do this until you feel a slight stretch at the back of the hamstrings or knee joint then stop. As soon as you feel any stretch stop and hold for the count, unless you feel pain at any time, in this case stop the stretch immediately. After the right leg repeat the same technique for the left leg.

Groin Muscle

This is an easy stretch to do for warming up the groin area before any weight loss exercise. It can be done in front of the TV at home and will take less than a minute to complete. The groin is one area many people forget to warm up before exercising. It is important to warm up this area thoroughly before exercise as any injury to the groin can be fairly painful, and may cause you to stop training resulting in less calories burned.

Sit comfortably on a soft exercise mat or carpet. With your knees pointing outwards put the soles of your feet together and hold onto your toes. Rest your elbows around the shin area in line with the lower legs and make sure you feel stable. Gently pull yourself forward, bending from the hips until you feel a little stretch in the groin area. Do not bounce to stretch and try to keep the back straight at all times. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.

If you find it difficult or painful just to put your soles together then don't do this groin stretch.