What do you feel like doing when you wake up in the morning? We're willing to bet that your body is aching and you feel like stretching.
But do you stretch?
We live such busy lives that we tend to dismiss an action such as stretching as being trivial. But one shouldn't underestimate the importance of stretching.
Regular stretching is crucial for your overall well-being. It helps you start your day with a greater kick of energy. It helps you push yourself more during your workout sessions.
Stretching also builds strength and lets your body handle strenuous functions for years to come. Here's what you need to know about the importance of stretching:
Posture
Many of us work from home or offices where we spend hours at our computers.
As wonderful as this might be, it's a huge killer for your back. If you have poor posture, it will lead to other health problems that can be permanent.
Stretching helps you improve your posture over time. If you spend much of your day hunched over, start with stretching first. Spend at least five minutes stretching before sitting at your computer.
You want to take breaks from your work at least once per hour for another five-minute stretch. Over time, you'll improve your posture and feel less back pain.
Injury Prevention
One of the biggest risks with high-performance workouts are injuries. You can strain or tear a muscle if you push yourself too hard. But if you stretch before a workout, it increases the range of your muscle movement.
Stretching will warm up your blood and decreases your muscle tightness. It helps bring blood flow to your muscles which lowers the risk of injury.
As such, you want to take 5-10 minutes of stretching before any exercise. Make sure you don't rush through your stretching to get to your main exercises.
It's also wise to stretch after your workout. While you should expect muscle soreness, this can also be a hindrance at times. Stretch on rest days so that you can lower your muscle soreness.
It's also great to use a CBD pain cream in tandem with your stretching. This complements your stretching to reduce muscle soreness or pain.
Range of Motion
As we get older we will have challenges with our range of motion. This makes it harder to reach for the items on the top shelf. It makes it harder for you to push yourself during your workout routines.
If you stretch on a regular basis, you'll improve your range of motion as you age. If you are already noticing such joint issues, make sure you spend more time stretching as often as possible.
Flexibility
Part of an improved range of motion is also improving your flexibility. This is great for diversifying your exercises.
You'll enjoy other physical activities such as dancing with greater ease. Being flexible makes it easier to do your daily activities without any issues.
Reduces Stress and Increases Calmness
While some stress is good, an excess of stress is harmful. You want to make sure you have a calm mind as much as possible. This helps you manage the challenges of life without getting overwhelmed.
So often we ignore how physical exercise reduces stress and increases calmness. In fact, if you feel stressed you want to take a break to stretch. Spend 10 minutes stretching each part of your body.
You'll feel a strain while you stretch, however, you'll feel calm within minutes of finishing your session.
For example, if you feel depressed then consider stretching your neck. Try stretching your neck back without creating discomfort. If you do this for a few minutes, you might feel a mood change right away.
These stretches will also help you reduce serious headaches. You want to combine these with a good diet and other good habits, but never underestimate how crucial stretching is.
Stretching Exercises
Now let's look at some of the stretching exercises that you should try. While you should push yourself, make sure you don't overdo it.
You should start with static stretching exercises. These are when you stand still while stretching. You want to focus on one stretch at a time and extend it for up to 1 minute.
Next, you want to work your way up to dynamic stretching exercises. These are active moments that help stretch your muscles.
For example, you might want to dance or hop or jump rope before a workout session. You can also twirl your arms around before an upper-body exercise.
Your stretching sessions should consist of stretching your full body. You want to make sure your blood starts pumping and that you feel your heartbeat.
Stretching Safety
To make sure you optimize your stretching, you want to make sure you take the safety precautions seriously.
If you have any injury (including a minor one) don't stretch that particular muscle. Wait for a full recovery first before you exercise.
You want to try to avoid bouncing as much as possible. Ballistic stretching has proven to be ineffective for stretching overall.
Make sure you're stable when you try to stretch.
For example, if you want to stretch your arms keep your feet planted on the ground. For your legs, keep your butt planted firmly on a mat or cushion.
Make sure you don't move around and focus on one body part at a time.
Share the Importance of Stretching
Now that you know the importance of stretching, please share this guide with others.
Regardless of your age and your health condition, you want to make sure you always work on improving your body's strength.
Remind your friends and family to partake in stretching exercises. There's also more great content on health and fitness on our website.
