As we discussed on Tuesday, flexibility and stretching are an important part of your fitness routine - or at least, they should be!
Stretching after a workout can help prevent soreness, cool down your muscles, and finish off your workout on the right foot.
This stretch routine can also be done anytime you are feeling tight and need to improve your flexibility. If you're feeling extra tired and can't handle a strenuous workout, why not do this one instead? It will help to relax you, relieve stress, and improve flexibility and posture.
These are active stretches, so you will be moving fluidly from one movement into another at a slow pace to help your muscles relax and lengthen. You will do 8 repetitions of 9 different flexibility exercises.
No equipment is required, though you may want a yoga mat for some of the exercises.
Showing posts with label flexibility exercises. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flexibility exercises. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Thursday, June 2, 2016
[Video] 20-Minute Yoga for Flexibility
If you have trouble with stiffness or tightness in your muscles, if you want to improve your flexibility, or if you just sit a lot at work, this is a wonderfully gentle and effective yoga stretching routine that will improve flexibility, increase energy, and help you feel better all over!
It's also great for a relaxing cool-down after a more strenuous workout, or for winding down at the end of the day.
This gentle and flowing routine will stretch and strengthen your entire body, and it's simple enough for beginners, but still effective for more advanced yoga practitioners. All you need is a mat or folded blanket.
It's also great for a relaxing cool-down after a more strenuous workout, or for winding down at the end of the day.
This gentle and flowing routine will stretch and strengthen your entire body, and it's simple enough for beginners, but still effective for more advanced yoga practitioners. All you need is a mat or folded blanket.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The Importance of Stretching for Flexibility
When people consider their diet and exercise regimen and how they can improve it, they very rarely consider the benefits of simple stretching. Stretching can help you increase your balance, strength, and flexibility - all of which are important for maintaining fitness and avoiding injury. Stretching for flexibility is beneficial in all aspects of your active life.
Why You Shouldn't Overlook Stretching
Stretching has so many benefits. At all levels, there are stretches that can be done to help increase your flexibility and strength, and even your balance. This can help you avoid injuries, feel limber, and give you more range of motion and energy.
How Stretching and Flexibility Helps Your Workouts
Stretching your muscles is a great way to prepare them for workouts of any kind, and is also a great way to cool down from a workout. Stretching before and after workouts helps work out lactic acid, prevents injury, and helps you feel less sore. Not to mention that the added flexibility will help you get the most out of your workouts. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.
Great Stretches for Flexibility
* Behind the Head Elbow Stretch - In either a sitting or
standing position, simply reach one arm behind your head. Using the
opposite arm, grab your elbow and press to increase the stretch. Hold
the stretch and repeat on the opposite side.
* Lunge Stretches - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips. Step out wide with one foot, and then bend that knee, bringing the back leg down against the ground. Get as close to the ground as you can, trying to touch your shin to the ground. Hold this pose and then repeat on the opposite leg.
* Seated Twists - Sit on the ground with your feet out in front of you and then twist your torso to one side. Then bring your arms around to help pull your torso into a good twist. Hold this pose and then repeat on the opposite side. You can also do a second variation of this stretch with your legs folded “criss-cross”.
* Folding Stretch - Stand up straight with your feet just slightly apart. Keeping your posture straight, bend at the waist and try to hug your knees. If you are not quite at that level, just try to touch your toes or use blocks or the bottom stair to stretch as far as possible. Don't force it - just hold the pose and let your body stretch naturally.
* Butterflies - Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Bring your legs in and touch the bottoms of your feet together, knees bent outward. Keeping your knees as flat on the ground as possible, grab your feet and try to bring them closer to your body. Without straining yourself, bounce your knees up and down a bit.
* Yoga Poses - There are a huge amount of yoga poses that are aimed specifically at increasing your flexibility. Two of these poses are called “baby cobra” and “downward facing dog”.
* Baby Cobra - Lie face down on the ground with your arms near your head, palms on the ground. Use your hands to push the top portion of your body off the ground, curving your spine backwards and looking up to the sky.
* Downward Facing Dog - Start in push-up position, and then push your hips up, folding your body in half so your bottom is up in the air and your head and arms are down. Your heels should be flat on the ground, stretching your entire body. If you can't get your heels flat on the ground with your knees straight, straighten your knees and let your heels lift up. Gradually work on getting your heels closer to the ground.
Stretching for flexibility will help you will all facets of your healthy lifestyle and exercise regimen. These stretches alone will be beneficial for your whole body and daily life, and when paired with your exercise routine will make a huge difference in your overall fitness and health.
Why You Shouldn't Overlook Stretching
Stretching has so many benefits. At all levels, there are stretches that can be done to help increase your flexibility and strength, and even your balance. This can help you avoid injuries, feel limber, and give you more range of motion and energy.
How Stretching and Flexibility Helps Your Workouts
Stretching your muscles is a great way to prepare them for workouts of any kind, and is also a great way to cool down from a workout. Stretching before and after workouts helps work out lactic acid, prevents injury, and helps you feel less sore. Not to mention that the added flexibility will help you get the most out of your workouts. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side.
Great Stretches for Flexibility
 |
| (Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.) |
* Lunge Stretches - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips. Step out wide with one foot, and then bend that knee, bringing the back leg down against the ground. Get as close to the ground as you can, trying to touch your shin to the ground. Hold this pose and then repeat on the opposite leg.
* Seated Twists - Sit on the ground with your feet out in front of you and then twist your torso to one side. Then bring your arms around to help pull your torso into a good twist. Hold this pose and then repeat on the opposite side. You can also do a second variation of this stretch with your legs folded “criss-cross”.
* Folding Stretch - Stand up straight with your feet just slightly apart. Keeping your posture straight, bend at the waist and try to hug your knees. If you are not quite at that level, just try to touch your toes or use blocks or the bottom stair to stretch as far as possible. Don't force it - just hold the pose and let your body stretch naturally.
* Butterflies - Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Bring your legs in and touch the bottoms of your feet together, knees bent outward. Keeping your knees as flat on the ground as possible, grab your feet and try to bring them closer to your body. Without straining yourself, bounce your knees up and down a bit.
* Yoga Poses - There are a huge amount of yoga poses that are aimed specifically at increasing your flexibility. Two of these poses are called “baby cobra” and “downward facing dog”.
* Baby Cobra - Lie face down on the ground with your arms near your head, palms on the ground. Use your hands to push the top portion of your body off the ground, curving your spine backwards and looking up to the sky.
* Downward Facing Dog - Start in push-up position, and then push your hips up, folding your body in half so your bottom is up in the air and your head and arms are down. Your heels should be flat on the ground, stretching your entire body. If you can't get your heels flat on the ground with your knees straight, straighten your knees and let your heels lift up. Gradually work on getting your heels closer to the ground.
Stretching for flexibility will help you will all facets of your healthy lifestyle and exercise regimen. These stretches alone will be beneficial for your whole body and daily life, and when paired with your exercise routine will make a huge difference in your overall fitness and health.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Video: 5 Simple Daily Anti-Aging Exercises
This short video demonstrates 5 simple, easy exercises you should do every day for mobility and anti-aging benefits. These simple movements mimic movements useful in everyday life, for improved functional fitness. They loosen tight muscles, improve mobility, and help reduce the risk of pain and injury, and they only take 5 minutes.
Do these daily to keep your body flexible and young!
Do these daily to keep your body flexible and young!
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
4 Benefits of Flexibility Exercises
If you were to walk into a gym today and observe the daily routines of its patrons, you would likely notice a common theme: people's desire to get their workouts done, and to carry on with their busy lives.
As a result, many people have done away with making flexibility exercises a part of their workouts. However, several benefits can be achieved by putting a focus back on flexibility exercises.
1. Decreased chance of injury through reduced joint stress
* The old adage is true – "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." If you are about to put your body, and especially your joints, through a rigorous workout, it makes sense to take those joints through their full ranges of motion first.
* A joint that is flexible will not only have a great range of motion, but it is also less likely to get injured than a cold or tight joint. Having said this, most experts agree that stretching a joint should only be performed once the body and muscles have been warmed up. As a result, it is now advisable to do a few minutes of light cardio activity to get the blood flowing before beginning a stretching program. (If your workout or flexibility program consists of some type of yoga, just ease into it by not stretching as far at the beginning - see #2 below.)
2. Increased range of motion
* It has been shown that for some weight lifting exercises, the fuller the range of motion is, the more beneficial the exercise can be to muscle building. It would then be in your best interest to achieve that goal.
* Increasing your range of motion is most easily performed by doing a dynamic stretch of the body part that you plan to target in your workout routine. Dynamic stretching, as opposed to static stretching, involves putting a targeted body part's muscles and joints through a series of progressively wider ranges of motion until they are fully stretched - a yoga routine is a good example of this.
3. Increased balance
* Imagine if you dropped something on the floor, and you were about to pick it up. But just before you do this, you are told you cannot bend your knees or bend at the hips. Picking up that object now seems next to impossible without falling flat on your face!
* This is an extreme example, which illustrates a simple concept. Flexible joints allow a body to keep its balance. A body is most balanced when the head, shoulders, and hips are in perfect alignment, and flexible joints allow for this alignment to happen whether you are working out or just going about your daily activities.
4. Improved posture and muscle relaxation
* Muscle tightness, due to lack of flexibility in one area of the body, can cause problems in other areas. As an example, tight hamstrings often lead to increased tension and fatigue in the muscles of the lower back. As a result, low back pain then leads to poor posture as your body tries to protect itself from the pain it is enduring - remember - everything in the body is connected and affects the other parts! The best way to prevent some forms of low back pain is to ensure that leg and torso muscles are subjected to a variety of flexibility exercises. This is why relief for chronic pain can often be found through specific exercises.
To conclude, whether the stretches you incorporate into your daily routine are static or dynamic, are performed at home or at the gym, are probably not the most important factors. The most important factor is that you do make flexibility exercises a part of your workout so that you can get the most out of your training - and achieve a healthier, stronger, and pain-free body.
As a result, many people have done away with making flexibility exercises a part of their workouts. However, several benefits can be achieved by putting a focus back on flexibility exercises.
1. Decreased chance of injury through reduced joint stress
 |
| Stretching (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
* A joint that is flexible will not only have a great range of motion, but it is also less likely to get injured than a cold or tight joint. Having said this, most experts agree that stretching a joint should only be performed once the body and muscles have been warmed up. As a result, it is now advisable to do a few minutes of light cardio activity to get the blood flowing before beginning a stretching program. (If your workout or flexibility program consists of some type of yoga, just ease into it by not stretching as far at the beginning - see #2 below.)
2. Increased range of motion
* It has been shown that for some weight lifting exercises, the fuller the range of motion is, the more beneficial the exercise can be to muscle building. It would then be in your best interest to achieve that goal.
* Increasing your range of motion is most easily performed by doing a dynamic stretch of the body part that you plan to target in your workout routine. Dynamic stretching, as opposed to static stretching, involves putting a targeted body part's muscles and joints through a series of progressively wider ranges of motion until they are fully stretched - a yoga routine is a good example of this.
 |
| A gymnast stretching exercise. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
* Imagine if you dropped something on the floor, and you were about to pick it up. But just before you do this, you are told you cannot bend your knees or bend at the hips. Picking up that object now seems next to impossible without falling flat on your face!
* This is an extreme example, which illustrates a simple concept. Flexible joints allow a body to keep its balance. A body is most balanced when the head, shoulders, and hips are in perfect alignment, and flexible joints allow for this alignment to happen whether you are working out or just going about your daily activities.
4. Improved posture and muscle relaxation
* Muscle tightness, due to lack of flexibility in one area of the body, can cause problems in other areas. As an example, tight hamstrings often lead to increased tension and fatigue in the muscles of the lower back. As a result, low back pain then leads to poor posture as your body tries to protect itself from the pain it is enduring - remember - everything in the body is connected and affects the other parts! The best way to prevent some forms of low back pain is to ensure that leg and torso muscles are subjected to a variety of flexibility exercises. This is why relief for chronic pain can often be found through specific exercises.
To conclude, whether the stretches you incorporate into your daily routine are static or dynamic, are performed at home or at the gym, are probably not the most important factors. The most important factor is that you do make flexibility exercises a part of your workout so that you can get the most out of your training - and achieve a healthier, stronger, and pain-free body.
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