5 Great Reasons to Stretch
For some reason, I have noticed resistance among some people to stretching before and after working out.
I am not sure why, but let’s go over just a few of the main benefits of stretching.
- It improves your performance, no matter what you’re doing – in the gym, on a field or court, or jogging in the park.
- It reduces time needed to recover.
- It reduces muscle soreness which can sometimes follow exercise.
- It improves blood flow throughout the body and the muscles.
- And stretching improves your range of motion, which is key to moving and feeling better no matter what you’re doing.
Generally, there are two types of stretches around workouts.
- Dynamic stretching: This means actively moving your joints and muscles with specific motions for 10 to 12 repetitions, targeting particular muscle groups, The Cleveland Clinic explains.
It increases power, sprinting, jumping and performance. This is ideal for warming up before exercise because it improves blood flow circulation. “It increases muscle temperature, which then reduces the resistance and increases the flexibility,” a Cleveland Clinic doctor says.
- Static stretching, as the name implies, involves moving a joint as far as it can go and holding it for a while, say for 30 to 90 seconds.
This is generally more useful after workouts.
Stretching doesn’t take a lot of time, and it feels great.
