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RADAR
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Many people take it for granted that they should start their exercise routines with some stretching on the spot, perhaps hoping it will loosen them up for their workout. Most fitness experts now agree this kind of static stretching before exercise is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful.
Traditional stretches, like when people bend over to touch their toes or stretch their legs on a fence, often cause the muscles to tighten rather than relax — exactly the opposite of what is needed for physical activity.
Experts say it is like extending a rubber band to its limit. When people stretch to the maximum, they are more likely to pull a muscle.
When you stretch before exercising, your body may think it's at risk of being overstretched. It compensates by contracting and becoming more tense. That means you aren't able to move as fast or as freely, making you more likely to get hurt.
stretching does help with flexibility, but people should only do it when they aren't about to exercise, like after a workout, or at the end of the day.
"It's like weight training to become stronger," he said. "You wouldn't do a weight session right before you exercise, and you shouldn't stretch right before either."
In the last few years, several studies have found static stretching before playing a sport makes you slower and weaker.
My suggestion is to
Warm up with a light jog
Instead of stretching, many experts recommend warming up with a light jog or sport-specific exercise, like kicking for football or a few serves for tennis. That type of light movement increases the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature.
"This allows you to approach your full range of motion, but in a very controlled way.
But the message has yet to trickle down to legions of joggers and recreational athletes. "This is classic, old-school stretching that has been done for generations," and as said before "It's going to be very hard to convince people to start doing something different."
There's more news for the traditionalists: research shows static stretching doesn't work as well as more active kinds of stretching that incorporate movement, such as lunges.
people who stretched using conventional techniques, like bending over to touch their toes, were less flexible than those who did a more active type of stretching that used more muscle groups.
static stretching simply forces the muscle being stretched to endure the pain of that stretch. With active stretches that work more muscles, the stretched muscles learn to extend while another group is working.
Those types of stretches are commonly used in yoga, which emphasizes how the body is aligned during stretches, not just flexibility. Many yoga poses involve the whole body and focus not only on stretching a particular muscle, but the ligaments, tendons and joints around it.
Still, experts don't discount static stretching entirely, people Who stretch several times a week and that most types of stretching work.
If you are going to stretch your muscles and then do some intense training, you're not going to get fantastic results.
Instead I would do active stretches that mimic the movement of your intended activity, like some deep knee lunges while walking for runners.
"Stretching is vital to become more flexible,"But it has to be done at the right time and for the right reasons."
Before you exercise
Get hydrated. A lack of hydration will make you feel sluggish and can diminish your workout intensity. It can also cause muscle cramping during your aerobic workouts. And no, that sip of water during the heart-rate check isn't going to cut it. What will cut it is drinking eight to 12 cups of water throughout the day and 8 to 10 ounces just prior to working out.
Warm up. It's easy. For five to 10 minutes (up to 15 if you're a mature adult), do a very low-intensity version of whatever aerobic activity you're about to do. Perform smaller range of motion, less intense movements to 1) get your blood pumping to the muscles; 2) give your lungs an opportunity to get acclimated for greater output; and 3) allow your joints and muscles a chance to get ready for higher-intensity movement without stiffness or tightness.
If you're about to do weights, you can ride the bike or choose some other form of aerobic movement to prep your body for resistance work, or you can opt to do one set of your exercise with reduced weight or no weight at all.
Stretch. While the industry debate continues as to whether or not stretching prevents injury, there's no dispute that pre-cardio stretching better enables full joint and muscle range of motion and will better prepare you for your workout. For pre-cardio stretching, focus on the muscles that will be doing most of the work. Perform and hold static stretches of these muscles for 10 to 20 seconds each.
Stretching after your workout helps in a number of ways. It helps reduce lactic acid buildup in the muscles, reduces delayed muscle soreness and reduces post-workout muscle tightening. Also, your muscles are hot and at their most pliable after exercise, so this is the best time to work on increasing flexibility. Simply hold non-bouncy, static stretches for 20 to 30 seconds, one to three sets each exercise, and watch your flexibility increase.
If you've been forgetting, or forgoing your workout's warmup and cool down, give these before and after exercise habits a try. Slowing down to include them will help you improve how things go before, during and after your workout routine.
You may not notice things right away but further down the Years this will play big dividends!
RADAR
Traditional stretches, like when people bend over to touch their toes or stretch their legs on a fence, often cause the muscles to tighten rather than relax — exactly the opposite of what is needed for physical activity.
Experts say it is like extending a rubber band to its limit. When people stretch to the maximum, they are more likely to pull a muscle.
When you stretch before exercising, your body may think it's at risk of being overstretched. It compensates by contracting and becoming more tense. That means you aren't able to move as fast or as freely, making you more likely to get hurt.
stretching does help with flexibility, but people should only do it when they aren't about to exercise, like after a workout, or at the end of the day.
"It's like weight training to become stronger," he said. "You wouldn't do a weight session right before you exercise, and you shouldn't stretch right before either."
In the last few years, several studies have found static stretching before playing a sport makes you slower and weaker.
My suggestion is to
Warm up with a light jog
Instead of stretching, many experts recommend warming up with a light jog or sport-specific exercise, like kicking for football or a few serves for tennis. That type of light movement increases the heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, warming up the body temperature.
"This allows you to approach your full range of motion, but in a very controlled way.
But the message has yet to trickle down to legions of joggers and recreational athletes. "This is classic, old-school stretching that has been done for generations," and as said before "It's going to be very hard to convince people to start doing something different."
There's more news for the traditionalists: research shows static stretching doesn't work as well as more active kinds of stretching that incorporate movement, such as lunges.
people who stretched using conventional techniques, like bending over to touch their toes, were less flexible than those who did a more active type of stretching that used more muscle groups.
static stretching simply forces the muscle being stretched to endure the pain of that stretch. With active stretches that work more muscles, the stretched muscles learn to extend while another group is working.
Those types of stretches are commonly used in yoga, which emphasizes how the body is aligned during stretches, not just flexibility. Many yoga poses involve the whole body and focus not only on stretching a particular muscle, but the ligaments, tendons and joints around it.
Still, experts don't discount static stretching entirely, people Who stretch several times a week and that most types of stretching work.
If you are going to stretch your muscles and then do some intense training, you're not going to get fantastic results.
Instead I would do active stretches that mimic the movement of your intended activity, like some deep knee lunges while walking for runners.
"Stretching is vital to become more flexible,"But it has to be done at the right time and for the right reasons."
Before you exercise
Get hydrated. A lack of hydration will make you feel sluggish and can diminish your workout intensity. It can also cause muscle cramping during your aerobic workouts. And no, that sip of water during the heart-rate check isn't going to cut it. What will cut it is drinking eight to 12 cups of water throughout the day and 8 to 10 ounces just prior to working out.
Warm up. It's easy. For five to 10 minutes (up to 15 if you're a mature adult), do a very low-intensity version of whatever aerobic activity you're about to do. Perform smaller range of motion, less intense movements to 1) get your blood pumping to the muscles; 2) give your lungs an opportunity to get acclimated for greater output; and 3) allow your joints and muscles a chance to get ready for higher-intensity movement without stiffness or tightness.
If you're about to do weights, you can ride the bike or choose some other form of aerobic movement to prep your body for resistance work, or you can opt to do one set of your exercise with reduced weight or no weight at all.
Stretch. While the industry debate continues as to whether or not stretching prevents injury, there's no dispute that pre-cardio stretching better enables full joint and muscle range of motion and will better prepare you for your workout. For pre-cardio stretching, focus on the muscles that will be doing most of the work. Perform and hold static stretches of these muscles for 10 to 20 seconds each.
Stretching after your workout helps in a number of ways. It helps reduce lactic acid buildup in the muscles, reduces delayed muscle soreness and reduces post-workout muscle tightening. Also, your muscles are hot and at their most pliable after exercise, so this is the best time to work on increasing flexibility. Simply hold non-bouncy, static stretches for 20 to 30 seconds, one to three sets each exercise, and watch your flexibility increase.
If you've been forgetting, or forgoing your workout's warmup and cool down, give these before and after exercise habits a try. Slowing down to include them will help you improve how things go before, during and after your workout routine.
You may not notice things right away but further down the Years this will play big dividends!
RADAR
