Stretching – The most important exercise you may ever do!
We all have a limited amount of time to squeeze in exercise each day, but one of the most important things to include in your daily routine is stretching. Stretching always seems to be the thing my clients are willing to leave out. They’re much more focused on burning calories and building muscle. They will jog for five more minutes or do a few more abdominal exercises, then just pick up their stuff and run out the door without stretching. As a Certified Personal Trainer, I always try to emphasize the value of stretching to my clients. Stretching is a very important part of a balanced exercise program. According to the American Council on Exercise, stretching should be done before and after each workout. It will help prevent injury while working out, aid in recovery after a workout and increase your overall flexibility.
Even if you don’t exercise, you can still benefit from stretching. Lack of stretching is a main contributor to tight and shortened muscles. As we age, we lose flexibility naturally, so having tight and shortened muscles will make our inflexibility worse. Shortened muscles can become fragile and weak if taken beyond their short range of motion, which can lead to muscle damage and injury. One daily activity that contributes to shortened muscles is sitting. Many of us sit all day at work or in the car. Sitting can tighten up your hamstrings (back of leg), calf and hip muscles. When these muscles are tight, it can lead to back pain. Stretching can also keep you looking good. It can give your muscles a long, lean look which can make you appear thinner and more toned.
In a perfect world, you would stretch periodically throughout the day and before and after exercise. But most of the time our lifestyle, job or busy schedule doesn’t allow this extra time for stretching. So at a minimum, try for 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening and always before and after working out.
Some important tips for stretching include:- Don’t bounce – Just hold the stretch, gently pushing or pulling into it. Bouncing can cause a muscle to stretch too far and can cause injury.
- Don’t stretch too hard or too far – On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the hardest stretch) aim for a 6 or 7. This way you are not uncomfortable in the stretch and you are not overstretching.
- Always keep the stretch within the bodies natural range of movement – Overstretching or pulling a stretch too far can result in injury.
Try to incorporate some stretching into your daily routine and don’t ever skip out on your stretching at the gym or after a workout. Stretching can really help improve your quality of life. It can help you remain flexible so you can do simple things like bending over to pick up your kids or grandkids and it can even help improve your arthritis. For some basic stretching exercises you can visit this website.
- Jennifer
Labels: Exercise, Jennifer
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