While getting a little achier with age is common and not necessarily something to be concerned about, the right stretching routine can help you avoid aches, says Rachel Southard, director of personal training operations at Anytime Fitness in Woodbury, Minnesota. (Beat high blood pressure and cholesterol and lose weight with the customizable walking plans in Prevention’s Walk Your Way to Better Health!) Here, Southard shares her five favorite stretches for preventing injury, decreasing post-workout soreness, and helping you stay ache-free in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.        

Pre-Workout Piriformis Roll

If you’re using a foam roller only after you exercise, you’re missing out, says Southard. “Foam rolling increases your core body temperature, as well as your range of motion, which not only helps you get a better workout, but also keeps you safe from injury—and resulting aches and pains,” she says. Rolling out the piriformis—a muscle located in the butt region—keeps the hips, back, and legs pain-free even before you get moving. (Here are five different types of foam rollers to consider buying—and when to use each one.) How-to: MORE: 4 Ways To Firm Your Butt Using A Foam Roller

Post-Workout Low Back Stretch

Foam rolling after you exercise is a great way to release the fascia, or connective tissue, that surrounds your muscles, says Southard. “Ultimately, doing this after your workouts will lead to more flexibility and mobility, and decrease soreness as a result,” she says. Considering low back pain is a common complaint, especially as we age, this stretch can help keep this area healthy and ache-free. (These five Pilates moves can also help you ease and prevent back pain.)   How-to: Try this exercise to relieve lower back pain:  ​ ​

Pre-Exercise Lateral Lunges

It’s important to include dynamic stretching—stretches that happen while you move—in your warm-up before exercising, says Southard. “Ideally, dynamic stretches act like rehearsal movements, mirroring the exercises you’ll do in your workout in order to prepare your muscles for peak performance and reduce your risk of injury and post-exercise pain,” she says. Lateral lunges work multiple muscles in your legs, inner thighs, and core, making it a great all-over lower body stretch, says Southard. How-to: MORE: How To Do Squats And Lunges Without Killing Your Knees  

Cat/Cow

Southard says one of the most common complaints she hears from her over-40 clients is back pain, which is why she says focusing on spinal mobility is crucial. “We use our core muscles—which wrap around the trunk and include the abdominals as well as the muscles in our low back—all day long to sit up, walk, bend, and lift things,” says Southard. “Then, we work out, and nearly all of the exercises we do activate our core as well.” That’s why it’s especially important to create spinal mobility by stretching the core muscles before and after every workout, she says. Her favorite is a move you’re likely familiar with if you’ve ever taken a yoga class: “Cat” and “Cow” stretches.    How-to: PREVENTION PREMIUM: 6 Best Yoga Poses To Soothe Menopause Symptoms See how the cat-cow yoga pose is done: ​ ​

Hip Flexor Release

While most people think of stretching the obvious muscle groups, like the hamstrings and chest muscles, Southard says most of us forget to stretch our hip flexors. These muscles run from the lower spine, down the front of your hips, and attach to the top of your leg bones. They are responsible for lifting your knees to your chest—and are often chronically tight due to days spent sitting, which keeps the hip flexors contracted and leads to short, tight muscles. This hip flexor release can be done before or after you exercise and even throughout your day to prevent contraction (and resulting pain) in the area. (These 10 moves also help ease tight hips.) How-to: