Did you know that regular stretching is just as important as regular exercise?
If you’re like me, you probably neglect this aspect of your fitness regime.
Stretching has major benefits and hopefully these 6 reasons will inspire you to make it part of your schedule!
Here are some of the main benefits of stretching.
For Your Body:
- Help improve flexibility (increases your range of motion)
- Assist in correct posture by lengthening tight muscles that pull areas of the body away from their intended position (because of so much time at our computers, many of us have tight chest muscles which pulls the shoulders and head forward, leaving us with a hunched shoulder look).
- Potential to decrease injury by preparing muscles for work before activity
- Increases blood and nutrient supply to muscles, thereby possibly reducing muscle soreness
For Your Mind:
- Even a short amount of time (10-15 minutes) of stretching can calm the mind, provide a mental break, and give your body a chance to recharge
- Classes like yoga or pilates offer you a chance to spend an hour releasing tension physically and mentally.
To get the most out of the stretching you do, here are some suggestions:
Skip the pre-workout stretch.
Your muscles should be warm before you begin your stretching. Do a warmup before a workout that simulates the movements you’ll be doing in order to warm up and prepare your body. Stretch after the workout when your muscles are already warm.
Focus on the muscles that need the most help.
Instead of trying to stretch your whole body after every time you exercise, focus on a key area of the body each time. Spend longer on each stretch and include more stretches for each area. If you are aware of muscles that are tight, then focus on those ones.
Include one long-duration flexibility session each week.
Choose a flexibility class, such as yoga, hot yoga, pilates, or do your own flexibility work for 45-60 minutes at least once a week. If you’re having trouble sticking to it, follow these strategies and build it into your schedule/calendar.
What muscle do you need to put more effort into stretching?
I hear a lot of mix studies about stretching. These are my views and experiences of the benefits listed in this article.
– Help improve flexibility (increases your range of motion)
I guess this is nice but in terms of day to day practicality, it’s a moot point. In some sports its helpful but having speed and skill is more so.
– Assist in correct posture by lengthening tight muscles that pull
areas of the body away from their intended position (because of so much
time at our computers, many of us have tight chest muscles which pulls
the shoulders and head forward, leaving us with a hunched shoulder
look).
I’ll give this a +1
– Potential to decrease injury by preparing muscles for work before activity
This statement is also questionable. The times that I don’t stretch I didn’t notice any increase of injuries and at the same time didn’t notice any difference in decrease of injuries when stretching.
– Increases blood and nutrient supply to muscles, thereby possibly reducing muscle soreness
Once you do dynamic stretches or just get warmed up, it does the same thing.
For Your Mind:
– Even a short amount of time (10-15 minutes) of stretching can calm
the mind, provide a mental break, and give your body a chance to
recharge
This is subjective, stretching is nice after a workout to cooldown.
– Classes like yoga or pilates offer you a chance to spend an hour releasing tension physically and mentally.
Again, this is subjective but I can see how some people might like it.
Overall there’s nothing wrong with stretching but at the same time, stretching isn’t as beneficial compare to doing other actives.
Thanks for your comments!
Great post thank’s for sharing!
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