Stetching – The Right Way

Why Stretch ?

Stretching relaxes your mind, tunes up your body and should be part of your daily life.

You will find that regular stretching does the following things:

• It prepares the body for activity – it signals to the muscles that they are about to be used.
• It reduces the risk of muscle injury
• It prevents post exercise stiffness and soreness
• It restores full flexibility after an injury which means a faster return to sport
• It improves performance in your sport by increasing co-ordination and range of movement
• It reduces muscle tension making the body feel more relaxed
• It promotes circulation

…and it feels good!

When to Stretch?

At this stage in your training you should have developed a daily 10 minute stretching routine. Before training, stretching is most effective if carried out after 5 – 10 minute warm up. Warming up increases the blood flow to the muscles and prepares the body for the ensuing sporting activity. After you exercise, it is advisable to do a 10 – 15 minute cool down and then to carry out your stretches again.

How To Stretch?

Stretching is easy to learn, but there is a right and a wrong way to stretch.

The right way: a relaxed, sustained stretch with your attention focused on the muscles being stretched.

The wrong way: bouncing up and down or stretching into pain. This actually strains the muscle and also activates a stretch reflex which makes the muscles contract/tighen instead of stretching out.
So remember:

• Stretch until you feel a mild tension in the muscle relax and hold for 10-30 seconds.
• Your breathing should be slow and under control – do not hold your breath.
• Do not stretch into pain – it is not a case of “no pain – no gain”.
• Do not jerk or bounce
• Repeat at least 3 times on each side

Information available at this site should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Always see your practitioner if suffering an illness or injury, with regard to your treatment options.