Stretching Exercises are Underrated
Stretching is an integral part of my exercise program, and it should be the same with you. Unfortunately, stretching is often times neglected by many individuals. I work out at home now, but when I used to go to the gym I would see many people go straight into their workout without the slightest thought of stretching.
Not me. Stretching is a must. It helps prepare my ligaments and muscles for the strenuous exercises I perform. Most stretching exercises help improve your flexibility and may increase your range of motion. Stretching is also useful for injury prevention and rehabilitation. I stretch when I go for a walk, when I wash the car, and I even stretch when I wake up in the morning. I obviously stretch before and after every workout too. Stretching has been ingrained into my mind since day one. BodyBuilding.com has a very detailed list of stretching exercises that I perform.
It’s also good to stretch when you are in a sedentary position for a long period of time. If you are normally sitting down at work, it’s a good idea to get up every so often and stretch your legs. The same goes for when you are driving long distances. I recall a news story from a few years ago in which a man died from sitting for a long time. The man had been sitting for a few hours while he drove home from work and developed some form of blood clot in his legs. That blood clot had cut off circulation and he died. Keep in mind that it’s a bit more scientific than that, but that’s what basically happened.
Whether you workout or not, please remember to stretch. Add some stretching exercises to your repertoire, you never know what could happen.
How do you belong if children are engaged in this?
What do you mean? Can you rephrase that so that I can better answer your question?
I’m guilty of this, often the only streching I do before hand is 5-10 minutes of cardio, which is warming up, but not stretching, on the other hand, I strech at the end of workout, but certainly not as much as would be necessary!
Stretching before will give you some good results. Over time you will notice them.
Even I am adding weight these days. So quite puzled how to burn my fats. Hope your tips will work for me.
I prefer to stretch after exercise not before. Before my workout I like to do the same movements as a warm up or I do yoga sun salutations do 10 and your are warm.
Stretching after exercise relaxes my muscles.
I completely agree…people should stretch more..it really helps out with the overall workout!
i do neglect stretching when i do cardio but not normally when i do weights. just before i run on the treadmill i will walk for a couple of minutes to stretch the legs but thats about it.
also i should stretch my legs more at work. i spend most of the day behind a desk and should take a break more often.
I never used to stretch out and then i turned 30…
Now I realize that some light stretching before a workout prepares your muscles for the work ahead and can also prevent some unnecessary injuries.
Stretching or light movements that are like what you are about to do?
Flexibility is something I really need to work on. I stretch a lot before my training but once my workout is done, I’m so exhausted that I just want to go home and rest. I always tell myself that I’ll stretch later on but I usually forget. Not stretching post-workout is NOT recommended, that’s for sure. My flexibility is terrible!
Good article btw..
Bill
I do stretches before and after.