Fanci Benefits to Stretching

Stretching is one of the most basic and natural action we do. If you think about it we do it almost instinctively when we wake up from a good nights sleep or from a long period of time of inactivity. This is just stretching in what I would call it in it's "raw" from with no real structure or routine to it.

Most of us  don't think of stretching in the form of routine like we do exercise nor do we think of the countless benefits that go along with it.  Adding a stretching routine to your day or as an add on to exercise routine is just as important to your health and body function as your regular exercise. In this blog I want to list the benefits of stretching along with a "how too" when it comes to stretching.

Lets start off with the benefits. Stretching benefits people of all ages young and old. Here are some benefits to stretching:

•  It increase flexibility and joint range of motion- Flexible muscles can improve your over all daily performance. Daily tasks such as lifting packages, bending  down to tie your shoes or walking the dog become easier and less tiring. Flexibility tends to diminish as you get older, but one  can regain and maintain it.
  
• It improves your circulation-Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. This then reduces muscle soreness and helps to speed recovery from muscle and joint injuries. The less sore your muscles are the less painful it will be to work those muscles and to exercise in general. 
• It improves your posture- Frequent stretching can help keep your muscles from getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture. Maintaining posture can minimize discomfort and keep aches and pains at a minimum.
  
• A natural stress reliever- Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress.
  
•  Regular stretching enhances coordination- Maintaining the full range of motion through your joints keeps you in better balance. Coordination and balance will help keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you get older.
  
• Stretching improves athletic performance- If your muscles are already contracted because you haven't stretched, then they will be less effective during exercise. Regular stretching will relax all your muscles and therefore enable them to be more available during exercise.

With all these benefits from stretching and especially with it helping sending a greater nutrient supply to muscles and  decreasing the  risk of injury and increasing recovery time you got to ask yourself, why not add stretching to your daily routine?

Now that you know the benefits to stretching you need to know the "How to" when it comes to stretching. You want to make sure you are stretching right to avoid over stretching and unnecessary  injury. Tips to proper stretching are:

• Warm up the muscles you wish to stretch first-Stretching cold muscles  increase your risk of pulling muscles.  You should warm them up  by walking, marching in place, pumping your arms or any other low intensity  exercise you enjoy for about five minutes.
• Hold the stretch to 15 to 30 seconds- It takes time to lengthen tissues safely. If you are not holding the stretch long enough you may be rushing or bouncing  through your stretch so hold yoru stretch for a good 15 to 30 seconds. For most muscle groups if you hold the stretch for 30 seconds you will only have to do  each stretch once.
• Do not bounce- Many people think bouncing helps get a better stretch, but it can causes little micro tears which in the long run tighten up the muscles even further making you even less flexible and more prone to pain. Every move you make should be  smooth and gentle. Lean into the stretch gradually,  and only push to the point of mild tension and hold. Each time you do this you will be able to go a little further, but do not force it.
• Focus on a pain free stretch- If you feel a pain in the stretch at all you gone to far and you need to ease up on the stretch a bit.
• Don't forget form and function- Like with exercise there is proper form with stretching. So keep that in mind when doing your stretching routine. Pay attention to the muscles and make sure you form for each stretch is attained properly. Also consider the ranger of motion (ROM) that you plan to put your muscles through. The whole point of stretching is
  achieving a specific ROM , so the muscles will not be used to going that far  and if you push to hard at first you could end up with an injury. 
• Relax and breath freely- In other words don't hold your breath. Make sure you breath in and out just the same as exercising as you stretch and you will be able to further in the stretch as well because you muscles are relaxing more.
• Stretch both sides- This is  to make sure joint range of motion is equal as possible on both side of the body.
• Stretch before and after your workout- Doing light stretching after you warm up followed by a more thorough stretching after your workout is best for you body and helps with recovery time after workouts.

So the bottom line to avoid over stretching and potential damage of your muscle and joints, avoid pain when stretching. Never rush yourself beyond what is comfortable, only stretch to the point where you can feel tension in your muscles. By doing this you avoid injury and get the max benefits of stretching.

While I have given you some great benefits of stretching and tips on how to stretch it is not always easy to stretch by yourself or just finding a routine you enjoy. Believe it or not there are places you can go to get stretched out and of course you have yoga. If you want info on these specialty places contact me.

I also am skilled and certified in stretching so I can help you as well.

A few last notes for you all so that you don't get discourage with stretching especially those who may be very tight. It takes 3 months for your muscles to fully respond to stretching and 6 months for you tendons and ligaments to respond to stretching.  So just like with exercising you need to be consistent and patient.

Please leave a comment and feel free to contact me on anything you like to hear about. I want to hear from YOU!