10 Things You Should Know About Stretching

Before fitness training of any kind, it is very important to do warm-up or stretching exercises to prevent accidents or injury, and enhance the benefits you will gain from your exercise session.  There are also a number of precautionary measures and tips that may serve as guidelines when getting ready to work out.

Here are 10 helpful tips:

English: An elderly man performs stretching exercises in gym (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1.  To increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries, stretch before and after a workout.  Almost everyone knows that stretching before workouts prevents injuries during the exercises, but stretching after a workout, when muscles are still warm, can also increase flexibility and reduce soreness.

2.  Hold your stretching position for at least 60 seconds to increase flexibility.  While holding your position for 20 seconds might be enough for warm ups, holding each position for at least 60 seconds will improve the body's flexibility a lot more. Also don't bounce while holding stretches (see next tip).

3.  Do not repeatedly go into a stretching position then immediately return to the relaxed position.  This is more appropriately termed as bouncing. When stretching, hold that position for several seconds (see #2 above), and then slowly relax.  You may do this exercise repeatedly this way.  Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.

4.  Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.

5.  Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups.  For some people, even if they have strong bodies, they tend to neglect the neck when working out of stretching.  Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one's hand against the front of the head and pushing it as far as it will comfortably go.  Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.

6.  Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.

7.  Work out considering only your capabilities and not of others.  Do not force yourself to do exercises that you are not yet capable of just because there are people who can do it.  Increase your limits slowly.  Listen to your body.  There are days when your body may be too tired and you may have to consider reducing your range of motion. This is fine, and it's better to take it easy for a day or two than to injure yourself.

8.  Learn to rest.  Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy.  Also, it is advisable that you don't work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days.  The muscles actually grow in strength during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.

9.  Do aerobic exercises in intervals to strengthen your heart.  Aerobic exercises are those physical activities that use oxygen for fuel.  This includes cardiovascular exercises such as skipping rope, running or swimming.

10.  Music may help you when you want to train for longer periods or to increase your intensity.  You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this.  Just make sure that you brought your headset with you if working out in public so you wouldn't disturb people who don't prefer music while exercising.

Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one's flexibility, many people also find that stretching feels good for a tired body and helps relax your mind as well.