The Importance of Stretching

Hello all! I appreciate the fact that people have already started to look at my blog, and hope that you inform friends and family of this blog. One of the main issues that I see my clients as well as others face everyday is the state of not being flexible. It is something that is absolutely horrible not only for the body itself but for the muscles that are affected. It brings blood flow back to the muscles that had been worked on.

All people want to do is lose weight or have enough muscles to enroll in this years edition of the gun show, however, without proper flexibility, none of that will happen. Studies show that the after a workout the body goes through a state of delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS. Where soreness can be worse 48 hours post workout. What stretching does is increase the body's range of motion or ROM so that it can perform the exercises effectively.

From a professional standpoint, you can ask a million trainers what they think would be the more beneficial way to stretch. There are two types, dynamic and static stretching. With dynamic stretching, you see this in an athletic setting where they warm up before going into activity. Whereas dynamic stretching is more of what you see in a gym, where people are holding a stretch for a specific period of time. Now as it relates to the trainer, you may get a 50/50 split on them saying either dynamic or static stretching is more beneficial. There really is no right or wrong answer, but if you are still interested, you should ask why either technique is beneficial. My opinion on the matter is that dynamic stretching is great because it gets the muscles to move properly in the ROM that is needed. Static stretching is good because it eventually releases the tension that muscles have built to create a looser muscle. With static stretching, studies have shown that stretching a muscle beyond a 30 second period will not make the muscle any more flexible. Therefore, its most beneficial to stretch for only for 30 seconds.

Do you think you should stretch before or after a workout? Every trainer will have a different opinion, there is no right or wrong answer. The benefits of stretching before a workout is that it will open up the joints for them to be able to move the necessary way to perform the movement. Stretching post workout is very relaxing and the body allows the body to rest after all that activity.

A great tool to use prior to stretching is a foam roller. It is a great way to release any knots that the muscles have made through workouts to then create an even greater amount of ROM for the muscles to go thorough. If your local gym does not have one, talk to the management about investing in one, they will most likely order some for their facilities, if not, you can find them on the Performbetter.com website and they are no more than $20-25.

The most important thing is to stretch, whether it is before or after a workout to avoid any injuries and excessive soreness. Try using dynamic and static stretches and see which you prefer more when working out. Remember exercising affects everyone differently, but to make the workouts efficient, stretching should be a part of your daily regimen.