As athletes or simply people interested in good fitness, stretching is often advised as a pre-workout or pre-exercise regime to insure that the body’s muscles are ready for the rigor.
Turns out that might not necessarily be right. According to many medical studies, stretching the major muscle groups – legs, arms, shoulders – does indeed help with range of motion and overall flexibility, but there is no evidence that stretching itself prevents injuries or prepares the body for a robust workout. In fact, these studies indicated, that stretching alone does not curb muscle soreness that may come from a workout.
Having said that, there are many devotees to stretching, at least in part, just look at the popularity of yoga. There is also, of course, meditation involved with the practice of yoga, and those who regularly attend yoga classes often cite the improved range of motion they enjoy, and an overall sense of “well being.” That, in and of itself, may be a good argument for stretching, in the “if it feels good, do it” school of thought.
For exercise regimes, however, most experts advise that the most important pre-workout routine for injury prevention and to avoid muscle soreness is the warm-up. Also, if stretching is to be a part of your pre-exercise routine, experts advise that you do so after a good warm-up – stretching first, with muscles not quite awake, could cause tension and pain.
For a warm-up, the most common advice is to – literally -- warm up the muscle group you intend to exercise for 5 to 10 minutes before exercising. This raises the core temperature of the body and the muscles before straining. Some of the recommendations include walking, swimming, jogging in place, and other aerobic exercises: skipping rope, rowing machine, stair climbing, elliptical, Stairmaster, etc. The object here is to work slowly at first and a little harder as the minutes go on, but just to the place where you begin to sweat. At this point, the body and the muscles should be ready for the brisk workout you have planned.
And, of course, just as important is a period of cool-down after the workout. Once again, walking or some other aerobic activity, at a slower and slowing pace for 5 to 10 minutes, will allow the body time and the movement necessary to adjust to normal physical activity.
Actually, it is here, after the cool-down, when many experts recommend stretching. At this point, stretching can help relax and balance tension on the muscles that have just been through a workout.
So what is proper stretching? Typically, good stretching exercises are referred to as static stretching. The muscle are slowly elongated and put through the full range of motion, holding the position at the point of full extension, without pain, for 15 to 30 seconds. For the thighs, for example, this may involve sitting and raising one’s knee toward the chin as far as comfortable and holding it, and then standing and flexing the leg outward and inward as far as comfortable and holing it. You know how your leg moves, and each person knows how far they can go in range of motion comfortably, although over time this range of motion should increase.
There are also other forms of stretching. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a physical therapy procedure most often used by sports therapists to help athletes regain range of motion after an injury that has prevented normal workouts. PNF essentially involves both passive and isometric contractions, beginning slowly and increasing over time as range of motion is restored or is boosted. There is also ballistic stretching, which involves bouncing during a stretch, but most exercise coaches have dismissed ballistic stretching as dangerous.
As you can see, stretching is a very valuable technique for improving and maintaining range of motion, however it is the warm-up that is critical to a safe and proper fitness regime.
And because you want to look great while warming up, exercising, stretching, and cooling down, Ladies Only Sports has all of the fashionable, functional and flexible workout apparel and gear you’ll ever need.
