Is Stretching Really Necessary?

There is a general consensus that stretching is a necessary part of your daily routine. It is particularly important if you are involved in exercise. The best exercise plan includes a warm up, stretching, exercise, further stretching and a cool down period. Stretching is important to stimulate an awareness of your body and well as provide proper blood flow.

Stretching is more effective if you have already warmed up the body. As we mentioned in a previous article, there are several ways to warm up prior to exercise, including body a physical raise in environmental temperature or light callisthenic exercise. As the muscle warms up it becomes more pliable, giving you better flexibility to the stretch.

By stretching your muscle to its optimum length prior to exercise you can allow the muscle to develop the most power as you work it. Stretching after your exercise routine while they are still warm will bring them back to their optimum resting length, which may have contracted and shortened during exercise.

If you do not have the time to invest in a pre- and post-routine stretch, it is recommendable to give priority to your post-work out stretch over the pre-work out stretch. However, in this case, make sure you have a proper warm up period.

One word of caution regarding stretching is to make sure you don’t over-do it during your post-work out stretch. The muscles are very warm and pliable and you can be at risk of overstretching the muscle. Awareness is key.

A proper stretch does not need to hurt. It is a common misconception that one needs to “feel the burn” to be stretching properly. If a stretch hurts, the body’s natural response is to tense up. This can lead to possible injury.

Make sure that a proper stretching routine is adding to your work out and that you don’t feel that it is just taking time away from your real exercise. Flexibility is key to having a healthy body and by not stretching you may be limiting your performance and not getting as much out of your workout as you could.

Come in and enjoy a workout at BOOTCAMP 619 in the New Year. We are always ready for someone up to a challenge!

Adding a Warm Up Routine to Your Workout

It is essential to integrate a set of proper warm up exercises into your workout to increase circulation and heart rate prior to beginning.These exercises will improve your performance while reducing the likelihood of injury by preparing you both physically and mentally for the challenge you are about to exert on your body.

Proper warm up will elevate the body temperature and increase blood flow to the muscles. A beneficial warm up routine is not just stretching. It is a common misconception that stretching serves as a proper warm up. Yes, stretching is imperative prior to beginning exercise, but it is not all you need to do to warm up.

Warm up routines are typically classified in three ways.

Passive Warm Up

This involves raising the body temperature by some extermal means such as using a heating pad or taking a hot shower.

General Warm Up

This is the most common technique. It employs various movements such as joint rotation and bending movements.

Light Calisthenics

Simple exercises such as celisthenics, brisk walking, jogging or jumping rope will increase blood flow to the muscle and increase the body’s core temperature.

A proper warm up prior to your workout has a variety of benefits.

• Increased body tissue temperature

• Increased blood flow to the active muscle group

• Increased hear rate, preparing the cardiovascular system for work

• Increased metabolic rate

• Increased exchange of oxygen from hemoglobin

• Increased nerve impulse speed

• Decreased muscular tension

• Enhanced elongation of connective tissue

It is important to consider a warm up plan that is appropriate to your current physical abilities. It is also important to consider your environment. You should extend your warm up period when working out in cold weather.

Come to BOOTCAMP 619 to learn how to exercise and remain injury-free!