In-depth article on the benefits of stretching for correct posture, physical well-being and muscular well-being. After an intense workout, I did not do adequate stretching for years and years. At the end of each exercise, I could not wait to get out of the gym by skipping the post-workout stretch on time. Stretching is an integral part of training that many of us do not know and do not practice consistently, thinking that it will not be used.
Especially when we train at home and do bodyweight workouts with jumps, pushups, dynamic exercises, leaps and lunges, stretching is essential. It often happens that due to the short time available to train, associated with a pinch of unawareness, we tend to skip the final part of the training, the one that includes a little muscle stretching. This happens because you don’t really know and truly understand the benefits of stretching. Now I always do some stretching before training to be looser and more elastic in the movements, and after exercise, I prefer a short session to oxygenate the muscles.
The importance of muscle stretching is a certainty. If you want to test it yourself, try to do a simple test, take your tablet or pc and do a rather intense bodyweight workout like a HIIT, a Performance or a Cardio Killer that you find on FixFit, skip the stretching and do the same thing the week after doing the post-workout extension that we propose at the end of each video. This simple test will make you reconsider the importance of stretching because you will notice that skipping it on an even foot the next day, you may feel the muscles sorer, it will seem that the powers of the legs are short and stiff, therefore not at all elastic.
In contrast, with stretching at the end of the workout, the next day, you will notice that your body, even if sore, is much better. If I don’t train, I always do at least 5-10 minutes of stretching a day. I like to do it in the evening while waiting for my favorite TV series to start. I choose the moment when I am free from all commitments and take a small amount of time to stretch my muscles.
This is what I would recommend to everyone. As the weeks go by, your muscles will be looser. You will be able to stretch better and gradually. You will also be able to make less effort during training because you will be more open. But let’s see the benefits of a constant mini stretching workout at the end of the activity or when you have 5-10 minutes during the week.
Stretching Reduces The Risk Of Injury
Stretching allows you to minimize the risk of tears or back pain due to intense workouts in which you move a lot and put physical endurance to the test. The shortened muscles do not move well, and if they are so to speak, “short”, they find it more challenging to make the movements and in these cases, during a workout, the risk of compensating for this muscle shortening, for example, with the lumbar area, the neck or the shoulders is very high. Muscle stiffness does not allow you to achieve a more excellent range of motion during workouts, so it is essential to prevent injuries and train more efficiently and effectively.
Stretching Improves Athletic Performance
As I told you a while ago, a few minutes of muscle stretching at the start of the workout allows you to give your best in activities. When you perform an exercise at its maximum expression, you can activate more muscle fibers, which will help you in muscle development and athletic performance.
Stretching Increases Blood Flow To The Muscles
An elastic body allows a better blood flow to the muscles. When the muscles are flexible, there will be a faster removal of waste and waste post-workout. This will enable you to reduce post-workout recovery times characterized by classic muscle pain.
Stretching Improve Balance And Coordination
When it comes to bodyweight training, movement coordination and balance are essential.
It is not easy to do 40 seconds of burpees without “missing shots”, much less do 40 seconds of squats and lunges without losing your balance! Stretching also helps you in this. The tense and contracted muscles do not favor the movements. By stretching, you will notice a greater fluency in the activities and more excellent stability and precision in the directions. As you can see, having good flexibility is important to train to the max, avoid unpleasant injuries and improve performance! Seeing is believing!
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