By Terry Sandhu
If you want to get fitter, or
try to lose weight, the first point of call is your diet. You decide
what you should cut back on and what you should add to your diet to
achieve your goals. The second thing that you will probably consider is a
good exercise program. In most peoples' views, a good exercise program
will initially consist of some type of cardio exercise. After this, some
people may try to incorporate some sort of weight training regime.
An essential part of any
exercise program is often ignored by most people. This essential part is
stretching. Some people may go through the motions with a couple of
minutes of stretching before a workout, but most people do not realize
the wonderful benefits that stretching can give them. Stretching, along
with cardio and weight training, should be considered a vital part of
any exercise program.
The first thing to remember is
that you should always have a good warm-up before stretching. This is
because a warm muscle is always going to be more flexible than a cold
one, and this will avoid the risk of injury. The second thing is to make
sure that you do not push too far when stretching. Always go to the
point where you can feel the pull and not to the point where it becomes
painful.
As children we are naturally
flexible, but this changes as we get older. Our muscles begin to get
tighter and this is why it is so easy to pull a muscle, or wake up in
the mornings feeling sore and stiff if we haven't slept with a good
posture. As children the bulk of our world consists of physical play. We
run around and move about in ways that stretch our bodies. When we get
older this stops. You rarely hear of children complaining of back pain
or pulled hamstrings.
You should have a good
stretching program consisting of 10 to 15 minutes. You will get the most
value from stretching if you do it after your normal workout. The
benefits of stretching are many, and here are just a few:
When you exercise you are
stressing your muscles. It's this stress that is going to make your
muscles stronger or give you muscular endurance. Stretching after a
workout is going to reduce the stress on your muscles. -- Stretching
will allow your blood to reach the stressed muscles more quickly, and
it's your blood that carries the nutrients that are going to repair you.
You will have less soreness in your muscles the day after a workout,
allowing them to recover more quickly.
Stretching will improve your
posture. It will make your body feel more comfortable. This will be
noticeable in the way you stand and the way you move around. Good
posture is extremely important for good physical health. After all, it's
bad posture that will end up giving you muscular problems in the long
term.
Stretching will improve your
daily life and allow you to perform tasks with more ease. It helps
movement and you can improve everyday things such as bending, leaning
and carrying. How many times have you pulled a muscle after picking
something up? How many times have you turned or moved suddenly and felt a
stab of pain? This is because your muscles are tight and not prepared
for the particular movement, and end up becoming injured. Stretching
will reduce the chances of this happening.
Do not ignore or downplay the
importance of stretching. Incorporate stretching into your exercise
program and it will give you benefits which will make you physically
fitter, help you avoid injuries, and increase the quality of your life
on a day-to-day basis.
