Stretching Before You Exercise
Stretching should be a basic part of every fitness program, especially aerobics. It can be dangerous to go from rest immediately to maximum activity. When your body is at rest, your blood circulates evenly throughout the body, facilitating the healthy functioning of all vital organs.
When a specific part of the body is in action a greater blood supply carrying oxygen is sent to the parts of your body that are working. Warming up and stretching is essential to tell your body that a certain group of muscles will be in need of increased supply of oxygen.
Added Benefits of Stretching
Stretching helps balance muscle groups that might be overworked during exercise or physical activity, or as a result of bad posture. Recent studies also show that stretching helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise. In addition, stretching can help realign soft tissue structures. This reduces the effort it takes to get and maintain good posture in daily living activities.
Another benefit is that stretching helps reduce the risk of lower back pain. Muscles that are in constant contraction require more energy to complete activities. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors and other muscles that are attached to the pelvis reduces stress to the low back.
There are even more added bonuses that can be gained with regular stretching before you exercise. They can include, but are not limited to:
- Increased blood flow and nutrients to muscle tissues
- A greater enjoyment of physical activities
- Muscular relaxation
- Improved neuromuscular coordination
- Improved Posture
- Some experts say it makes you less vulnerable to connective tissue injuries
When to Stretch
Always warm up prior to stretching because stretching with cold muscles can cause injury. You can warm up by doing 5-10 minutes of marching, walking in place while swinging your arms or by taking a warm shower.
You should try to hold each stretch for 30 seconds to get long-term flexibility benefits. Hold the position until you feel a gentle pull on your muscle. Stretching should NOT hurt. If it does, than you are not doing it correctly. Be sure not to bounce, as bouncing could cause you to tear something fragile.
Stretching can also cause a heightened sense of well being and personal gratification during exercise. And after all, a fitness routine should leave you feeling good in both your body and mind.
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