STRETCHING - Why, When What and How?
With so many internet resources available with fitness advice there is no surprise people get confused of what to do, how to do it and at what stage of their workouts. I would like to help you find answers to these questions in my article.
WHY?
I think it would be fair to remind a few FACTS about streching before I go ahead and present you with my own theory.
A - Stretching is an integral part of your fitness regime, there's no point to start exercising and neglect your stretches
B - Stretching balances out the physical action in your muscles - your muscles are stimulated to grow, or just become stronger by flexing and tensing them, but to get them back to their normal length and keep the same range of motion, you MUST stretch the shortened and tired muscles.
C - It speeds up recovery time after training
D - It improves your posture and agility, therefore it makes all physical tasks or playing sports much easier
E - It prevents you from painful injuries
F - It boosts blood circulation in your system ( again this helps with recovery, and endurance when exercising for longer periods o ftime)
WHEN?
This is a very important part as the confusion is often linked with not being sure when to stretch - BEFORE or AFTER exercise.
Stretching can only be safe AFTER you have warmed your muscles up, so I recommend you leave it until you have had a minimum of 15 minutes of physical exertion.
It is important you make your STRETCH time a priority - remember that if you want to reach long term goals in fitness and stay injury free, stretches are the key.
What about stretching during a workout? You'll find many opinions regarding this matter. I wouldn't recommend it knowing that stretching relaxes your muscles and thus may weaken them temporarily. You'd risk some sort of strain if you stretch right in the middle of your exercise.
Just to help you believe my words, I would like to confess that within years of my running, interval training and tennis palying, I was guilty of not doing my stretches in favour for a few more sit ups here or two more sprints there. I ended up damaging my left foot - so that now I have to manage the combo of plantar fascitis and achilles heel injury. I mainly do it by regular, diligent stretching routine. Let me put that in capitals: INJURIES ARE SO PAINFUL TO RECOVER FROM - DON'T RISK GETTING THEM - STRETCH
WHAT AND HOW?
There are many stretches you can do for each muscle group, but bearing in mind that people are very busy nowadays, I'd go for complex types of stretches that target many muscle groups all in one go, in other words, do YOGA POSES
FOR CALVES, HAMSTRINGS, BACK - perform Downward Facing Dog,
FOR BUTTOCKS, HIPS AND SHOULDERS - perform Half Lord of Fishes
FOR QUADRICEPS, CHEST, ABDOMINALS AND BACK- perform Bridge
FOR GROINS, HIPS, HAMSTRINGS - perform Seated Forward Bend
FOR ENTIRE SIDE OF THE BODY - perform this Side Angle Pose
These five poses will take you through a complex, full body stretch routine, that will create a healthier, stronger ATHLETE...or leaner, more supple and happier everyday WARRIOR.
It may take you a little longer to master the above poses initially, but once you do, you'll be able to perform them without any tutorials, as your awarness of your body increases. It is really easy. Start today.
To sum up, whatever you train for, stretches are CRITICAL to accomplish your goals with SUCCESS. Commit to it, and you'll feel the positive difference that extends beyond your workout matt.
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