Stretching!!!! Step 2 Assignment 9
by Weight Loss Nikki Style on Friday, September 30, 2011 at 9:21am
Stretching!!! Step 2 Assignment9
Stretching is one of the most important parts of a workout, it is also one of the most overlooked aspect of a workout. With today's busy lifestyle, we often opt out of a stretching session at the end of a work out because we have some where better to be, right? How many times has this happened to you? I know it has happened to me all to many times, until I started do massage that is.
As I started building my practice I realized just how important stretching was, I would see people who were in pain every day, many of which could have been prevented if they would have just incorporate a little stretching into their daily routine. That is one of the major components of my massage practice, I teach my clients how to prevent injury with proper daily stretches. Here are a couple of things that we should remember about stretching:
1. You don't need to stretch only after a workout, you can take 10 min throughout your day and stretch areas that feel tight. This will help to keep your muscles loose so you can perform your daily activities pain free. Example, if I did not take 5 min to stretch my fingers, hands, neck and shoulders during a massage day I would not be able to move at the end of the day, and the same goes for people who work at a desk, they need to stretch their neck, shoulders, legs and back.
2. Stretching after a work out helps with post workout soreness.
3. Stretching increases your flexibility and helps your joints move more freely. Have you ever heard the expression "move or you'll lose it" for example, people with arthritis need to move and stretch, this is extremely important to keep moving because once you start you will feel much better.
4. You should hold a stretch for 20- 30 seconds.
5. Do not bounce your muscles back and forth when you stretch, if you are trying to get a deeper stretch then follow these instructions: Begin your stretch, only going to a point that "feels good" (remember stretching NEVER should hurt!) Once you reach the "feel good" range take a deep breath in and exhale and on the exhale you can go a little deeper into the stretch, all while being careful to not go past the point of "hurting."
6. Feed the muscles plenty of oxygen during stretching. You need to breath, not only will this relax you, it feeds the muscle much needed increased blood flow to help you stretch the muscle much more effectively.
7. The muscle performs better during exercise when it has been stretched properly.
Now there is a long standing debate of when to stretch, before or after your workout. I agree with the majority of exercise professionals that believe that you need a brief warm up period prior to workout. Just a brief walking period can accomplish this, not only does it warm up the muscles but it helps to bring the heart rate up at a slow pace. We don't need to go from 0-60 in 6 seconds! That is not good for muscles, working a cold muscle can increase the chance of injury. As for after your workout, a much more regimented period is recommended, a minimum of 10 min after each workout to be exact.
Assignment
Now that we have adapted 10 min of cardio 5 days a week, it is time to add in 10 min of stretching. During each work out you should be warming up for a few minutes, then bringing your heart rate up to 60-80% (this info is in Step 2 Assignment 3) Then cool down (slowing down your movements)for a few minutes and ending with a minimum of 10min of stretching. I will post some popular stretches this weekend. Happy Friday Ladies!!
Stretching is one of the most important parts of a workout, it is also one of the most overlooked aspect of a workout. With today's busy lifestyle, we often opt out of a stretching session at the end of a work out because we have some where better to be, right? How many times has this happened to you? I know it has happened to me all to many times, until I started do massage that is.
As I started building my practice I realized just how important stretching was, I would see people who were in pain every day, many of which could have been prevented if they would have just incorporate a little stretching into their daily routine. That is one of the major components of my massage practice, I teach my clients how to prevent injury with proper daily stretches. Here are a couple of things that we should remember about stretching:
1. You don't need to stretch only after a workout, you can take 10 min throughout your day and stretch areas that feel tight. This will help to keep your muscles loose so you can perform your daily activities pain free. Example, if I did not take 5 min to stretch my fingers, hands, neck and shoulders during a massage day I would not be able to move at the end of the day, and the same goes for people who work at a desk, they need to stretch their neck, shoulders, legs and back.
2. Stretching after a work out helps with post workout soreness.
3. Stretching increases your flexibility and helps your joints move more freely. Have you ever heard the expression "move or you'll lose it" for example, people with arthritis need to move and stretch, this is extremely important to keep moving because once you start you will feel much better.
4. You should hold a stretch for 20- 30 seconds.
5. Do not bounce your muscles back and forth when you stretch, if you are trying to get a deeper stretch then follow these instructions: Begin your stretch, only going to a point that "feels good" (remember stretching NEVER should hurt!) Once you reach the "feel good" range take a deep breath in and exhale and on the exhale you can go a little deeper into the stretch, all while being careful to not go past the point of "hurting."
6. Feed the muscles plenty of oxygen during stretching. You need to breath, not only will this relax you, it feeds the muscle much needed increased blood flow to help you stretch the muscle much more effectively.
7. The muscle performs better during exercise when it has been stretched properly.
Now there is a long standing debate of when to stretch, before or after your workout. I agree with the majority of exercise professionals that believe that you need a brief warm up period prior to workout. Just a brief walking period can accomplish this, not only does it warm up the muscles but it helps to bring the heart rate up at a slow pace. We don't need to go from 0-60 in 6 seconds! That is not good for muscles, working a cold muscle can increase the chance of injury. As for after your workout, a much more regimented period is recommended, a minimum of 10 min after each workout to be exact.
Assignment
Now that we have adapted 10 min of cardio 5 days a week, it is time to add in 10 min of stretching. During each work out you should be warming up for a few minutes, then bringing your heart rate up to 60-80% (this info is in Step 2 Assignment 3) Then cool down (slowing down your movements)for a few minutes and ending with a minimum of 10min of stretching. I will post some popular stretches this weekend. Happy Friday Ladies!!
No comments:
Post a Comment