Stretching As Part of Your Fitness Regime!
Stretching of course has been around forever.
The concept is not new or part of a new age shift in exercise however it certainly is starting to change significantly.
The old ways or bouncing til we can touch our toes and putting in a a few side stretches are gone and rightly so! What we are seeing today is a "shift" in the way we do stretches.
Traditionally, we isolated a particular muscle which stretched and lengthened that muscle.
Nowadays, there is a realisation that isolation exercises are not always the right way to do things and we look more towards replicating how the body actually moves and works in real life.
Today's stretches work on this principle where we aim to stretch a full range or group of muscles at the same time.
All over, full body workouts have now been embraced by those professionals advocating the benefits of stretching for fitness! There are numerous benefits of proper stretching, however the best ones are: oEffective stretching can reduce injuries Unfortunately as we get older, we find that we can pull muscles, tear ligaments or just in general, feel quite tragic a day or two after if we have not taken the time to warm up and stretch before we commence whatever activity we have chosen for that moment.
oRegular and effective stretching increases your flexibility Can't touch your toes? Laugh at the thought of bringing your head to your knees? Believe it or not, regular stretching done correctly will significantly increase your flexibility til you can do the splits like Jean Claude Van Damme! Well perhaps not quite as good as him but you can still get pretty close:) oYou can target problem areas and also increase your balance.
Stretching can certainly play its part in helping fix your problem areas.
As a stretch is a movement that almost provides the same results as a mild body weight exercise and also that stretching creates long, lean muscles you will definitely see some visual improvements to your body.
Putting yourself in many different stretching positions will also improve your balance and co-ordination.
The many benefits of regular stretch sessions are surely visible however there is a major problem - stretching is so BORING! Yawn! Like eating one carrot or piece of broccoli a week, stretching for one session a month or even a week will not make any significant difference.
Sure you will feel good right after the time you actually do it but to be really effective and see results, you need to be stretching daily.
Yep that's right, I said daily! So how do I go about making time to do regular stretching sessions I hear you ask? The easy answer is make a commitment, plan and organise yourself to follow through! You need to make yourself (and more importantly, commit to!) a detailed "Stretching Plan".
Pin up a piece of cardboard or paper on your friend the fridge which lists how often you will stretch, when you will stretch, how long for and also what areas will you specifically work on? Maybe you will choose to stretch in every ad break of your favourite nightly show or even better, stretch consistently through the whole news bulletin! A good stretch session right before you go to bed is also a wonderful way to finish the day and your body will thank you for it.
It is also a great idea to record some measurements as a starting point as well which will give you something to refer to, keep you on the ball and track your progress.
It is quite motivational to see the length and depth of your stretches improve and increase over time - who knows you may even surprise yourself with your results! So how do I know which muscle groups or muscle to work on and stretch? This answer is totally different for just about everyone! For those of us needing to get fit and healthy after perhaps letting ourselves go (just a little:)), you will find that nearly every stretch you do will offer up some tension and be quite taxing to do.
If that is the case then do not stress - this is good! Just work on a number of whole body stretches as well as throwing in some traditional ones as well.
Those athletes and sportsmen or sportswomen amongst us with already good fitness, great form and those that are regularly active can still benefit greatly from effective stretching.
There is a pretty simple way to find out which areas you need to target.
Basically if you go through the motions of a stretch, extend yourself as far as you can and there are still no feelings of a decent stretch then this means you are already sufficient in that particular spot or section and any stretches you do will be mainly for maintenance.
Still a decent thing to do - you don't want to slip back by neglecting this already well running part of your body! All you need to do in this case is mix it up a bit and find new movements and areas that when fully extended, offer you up some resistance and strain.
The concept is not new or part of a new age shift in exercise however it certainly is starting to change significantly.
The old ways or bouncing til we can touch our toes and putting in a a few side stretches are gone and rightly so! What we are seeing today is a "shift" in the way we do stretches.
Traditionally, we isolated a particular muscle which stretched and lengthened that muscle.
Nowadays, there is a realisation that isolation exercises are not always the right way to do things and we look more towards replicating how the body actually moves and works in real life.
Today's stretches work on this principle where we aim to stretch a full range or group of muscles at the same time.
All over, full body workouts have now been embraced by those professionals advocating the benefits of stretching for fitness! There are numerous benefits of proper stretching, however the best ones are: oEffective stretching can reduce injuries Unfortunately as we get older, we find that we can pull muscles, tear ligaments or just in general, feel quite tragic a day or two after if we have not taken the time to warm up and stretch before we commence whatever activity we have chosen for that moment.
oRegular and effective stretching increases your flexibility Can't touch your toes? Laugh at the thought of bringing your head to your knees? Believe it or not, regular stretching done correctly will significantly increase your flexibility til you can do the splits like Jean Claude Van Damme! Well perhaps not quite as good as him but you can still get pretty close:) oYou can target problem areas and also increase your balance.
Stretching can certainly play its part in helping fix your problem areas.
As a stretch is a movement that almost provides the same results as a mild body weight exercise and also that stretching creates long, lean muscles you will definitely see some visual improvements to your body.
Putting yourself in many different stretching positions will also improve your balance and co-ordination.
The many benefits of regular stretch sessions are surely visible however there is a major problem - stretching is so BORING! Yawn! Like eating one carrot or piece of broccoli a week, stretching for one session a month or even a week will not make any significant difference.
Sure you will feel good right after the time you actually do it but to be really effective and see results, you need to be stretching daily.
Yep that's right, I said daily! So how do I go about making time to do regular stretching sessions I hear you ask? The easy answer is make a commitment, plan and organise yourself to follow through! You need to make yourself (and more importantly, commit to!) a detailed "Stretching Plan".
Pin up a piece of cardboard or paper on your friend the fridge which lists how often you will stretch, when you will stretch, how long for and also what areas will you specifically work on? Maybe you will choose to stretch in every ad break of your favourite nightly show or even better, stretch consistently through the whole news bulletin! A good stretch session right before you go to bed is also a wonderful way to finish the day and your body will thank you for it.
It is also a great idea to record some measurements as a starting point as well which will give you something to refer to, keep you on the ball and track your progress.
It is quite motivational to see the length and depth of your stretches improve and increase over time - who knows you may even surprise yourself with your results! So how do I know which muscle groups or muscle to work on and stretch? This answer is totally different for just about everyone! For those of us needing to get fit and healthy after perhaps letting ourselves go (just a little:)), you will find that nearly every stretch you do will offer up some tension and be quite taxing to do.
If that is the case then do not stress - this is good! Just work on a number of whole body stretches as well as throwing in some traditional ones as well.
Those athletes and sportsmen or sportswomen amongst us with already good fitness, great form and those that are regularly active can still benefit greatly from effective stretching.
There is a pretty simple way to find out which areas you need to target.
Basically if you go through the motions of a stretch, extend yourself as far as you can and there are still no feelings of a decent stretch then this means you are already sufficient in that particular spot or section and any stretches you do will be mainly for maintenance.
Still a decent thing to do - you don't want to slip back by neglecting this already well running part of your body! All you need to do in this case is mix it up a bit and find new movements and areas that when fully extended, offer you up some resistance and strain.