Why Stretch?
June 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under lifestyle, Stretching
Why Stretch?
As we get older our bodies become less flexible, our tissues contain less moisture, and we become more prone to injury. Stretching helps reverse these affects; consider the benefits of stretching before you finish your next work out
- Improve posture. By stretching you are conteracting some of the positions we keep our muscles in for extended periods of time, allowing all muscles to keep their length.
- Increases range of movement around joints and Improves balance making daily activities easier to perform. Think back to a time you had tight muscles after a heavy workout… What did it stop you from doing? Maybe you had tight thigh muscles and all of a sudden sitting down became very painful. Stretching helps keep muscles flexible around joints and relieve muscle soreness.
- Relaxation. Stretching helps release muscles that become tense as a result of stress.
- Alleviate muscle soreness. Stretching increases circulation to muscles. This increases the rate of recovery by removing waste products from the muscle.
- Potential increase in muscle power and ability to control muscles. This will improve your sporting ability along with strength to do every day activities
- Decreases Risk of Injury. Each of the above factors means you’re less likely to injure yourself during sport, general exercise and every day activities.
It’s time to give your body what it deserves – A good stretch!
TIP: Stretching is best done when the muscles are warm after exercise. Hold each stretch for minimum of 30seconds to get the maximum benefit.
