Flexibility: What Consistent Stretching Can Do for You at Her Active Life

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Flexibility: What Consistent Stretching Can Do for You

Posted March 8, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Lindsay Hutton

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Training Programs, Her Health

Woman stretching Do you know the three main areas of fitness you should be focusing on? My bet is you know of at least two: cardio and strength training. If you’re racking your brain for that third component, you’re not alone. Most people are unaware that flexibility training (also known as stretching) is considered a major part of a workout regimen. Even if you are aware you should be stretching, it’s still the most overlooked portion of a workout. The majority would rather spend that precious 5-10 minutes sweating it out on a piece of equipment or squeezing in a few sets of bicep curls. If you’re guilty of neglecting this important aspect of your routine, you may want to rethink your priorities. Believe it or not, stretching has many benefits that can affect your health and your workout.

Let’s focus on the pro’s of flexibility before we discuss how to fit it into your routine. The most obvious benefit of stretching is improved flexibility, but the question is, why should you care? Flexible muscles essentially translate into improved daily performance. Consistent stretching keeps your muscles from getting too tight, which in turn will help to improve your posture. If you sit at a desk all day at work, you know the importance of good posture to help minimize aches and pains in your back and shoulders. Outside of work, you’ll notice basic daily movements are much simpler when you have looser muscles. You’ll find it easier to pick up grocery bags, run errands, or even tie your shoes.

Stretching also increases range of motion in your joints. Again, why should you care? Adequate range of motion helps to keep your body balanced and mobile, which in turn helps to decrease your risk of falling and hurting yourself. If you do happen to take a spill, you’ll be less likely to suffer an injury. If you sustain a muscle injury, having flexible muscles will help speed your recovery, due to the fact you’ll have better circulation to help pump much needed blood and oxygen to the injured area.

Last but not least, stretching can be a great stress reliever. When you’re stressed, you most likely experience tension throughout your back, shoulders, and neck. A good stretch will relieve that tension and leave you feeling more relaxed.

So now that you’re educated on why you should be stretching, let’s focus on how and when you should be doing it. First and foremost, don’t ever stretch a cold muscle. This is a guaranteed way to injure yourself by pulling or straining something. Always perform at least a five minute warm up of low intensity exercise, such as walking or light jogging. Another alternative would be stretching after you exercise, but if you take this route just be sure to increase the intensity of your workout more slowly then if you had stretched.

Targeting major muscles groups is the best way to focus on areas you use in everyday life. Your hips, lower back, legs and shoulders are all areas that tend to be tight, so do stretches that aim to hit these spots. While you are performing each stretch, try to hold it for at least 30 seconds, making sure to breathe. The stretch should not be painful; you should only feel mild discomfort. Above all else, don’t bounce. Bouncing forces your muscle past its natural range of motion, making small tears in the muscle fibers. Not only can this cause injury, but it can actually make you less flexible! When the tears in your muscle heal, they leave behind scar tissue that tightens the muscle even more. A good rule to remember is bouncing equals bad.

The more you stretch, the better off you’ll be. Like regular physical activity, you should aim to do it on most, if not all, days of the week. It only takes a couple minutes and improved flexibility will have long lasting affects on your physical and mental well-being. Everyone has an extra five minutes in their day, so why not use it to make yourself healthier?