The beautiful background you see behind me in this video is the view from the top of the Oyster Dome hike just outside of Bellingham, Washington. This is Fitness Blender’s very first attempt at filming outside of our “studio” (a.k.a. our garage) – if you like it, let us know and you may see more like it.

This Fluid Stretching Routine felt great after climbing 3.5 miles of switchbacks up the mountain; you may find that you also enjoy the feeling of these light sculpting moves and stretches after a tough workout. The dynamic exercises also do well as a standalone low impact workout for toning and increasing flexibility.

I challenge you to do this whole video and not feel significantly less stressed by the time you are finished. With that said, you should not expect that this routine is entirely easy - those muscles wont just be cruising through a couple of simple stretches; they will have to engage, work to maintain your balance, and move through motions that they likely aren’t often asked to move through.

All you are going to need for this routine is just 13 spare minutes of your day - you don’t need a single piece of equipment.

Fitness Blender’s Fluid Stretching Workout – Routine Structure

10 Tricep Push Ups + Shell Stretches – Do a push up with hands set in close so that your elbows brush against your torso as you lower your body. Come back up from your push up and go straight into a shell stretch, where you are resting with your weight back in your legs and your hands stretched out above your head.

10 Downward Dog Lifts + Modified Pigeons – Keeping legs as straight as possible, place your hands flat on the ground in front of you. Lift one leg straight up in the air and then bring that same leg up under your body, bending it and placing it roughly in between your supporting hands – this is a stretch that you will feel in the hip flexor of the leg in front, and the glute of the leg that is straight behind you. Go straight back into the Downward Dog Lifts; repeat 5 times before switching to do the same on the other leg.

10 Alternating Lunge Stretches – Starting in a push up position, place one foot in between your hands in a deep, low lunge. Enjoy this stretch briefly before pressing up into a regular lunge, where you will hinge at the hips to lean back to feel a stretch through the front of your body.

10 Push Up Plank with Calf Stretches – Go into a full push up position and press through your toes so that your whole body moves forward over your hands. Hold for just a second before pressing in the opposite direction, flexing those feet so that you feel a stretch through your calf muscles.

5 Super Slow Squats + Toe Touch Stretches – Very slowly go down into a wide squat; once you get to the bottom of the motion, place your hands on the ground (or as close as you can) and slowly, gently straighten your legs so that your hamstrings and lower back get a good stretch. Keeping your hands on the ground, bend your knees again & straighten your body back up to slowly rise back up from that squat.

10 Walkdown Push Ups – Start in a standing position, bend over to place your hands on the ground, and “walk” down into a push up position; do a push up and then “walk” back up.

10 Jackknife Crunches + Full Body Stretches – Lie flat on the ground & bring both arms & legs up in a crunch simultaneously. Lower back to the mat & enjoy a few seconds of a full body stretch.

5 Oblique Crunches + Torso Twists – Lie on your side and crunch upwards; do 5 reps before you pull your top leg over your body further & twist at the waist for a good torso/core stretch. Do this sequence (5 reps, short stretch) three times through before switching off to the other side.


Though this toning and stretching workout is not a huge calorie burner, there are many other benefits that make it worth your while – increased flexibility, reduced stress, and more control over your body being just a few examples. We estimate that you can burn 40-85 calories in the 13 minutes of this routine.