How Important is Stretching?

Do you ever wonder why it’s so important to stretch on a regular basis? You hear it from trainers, coaches even family and friends but you probably don’t know why you’re doing it. Well we will go over the benefits of stretching, how often you should stretch and how to properly stretch.

Incorporating stretching into your daily workout and daily routine is just as important as exercising and eating healthy. The obvious benefits of stretching are to increase flexibility and improve range of motion. As we age muscles can become tighten which results in decreased flexibility and range of motion leading to minor or severe injuries, bad posture and increase muscle soreness. Stretching will also allow more blood flow to the target muscle group providing it with more nutrients and faster recovery from muscle soreness.

You are encouraged to stretch every day especially when you work out, but before you get to stretching you should first warm up your muscles by doing a 5 to 10 minute low intense warm up. After you have completed your main exercise routine you may once again stretch and it is important that you hold each stretch position for 20 to 30 seconds hitting every muscle group.

So there you have it, next time you begin your day or exercise work out you should stop and think about the benefits of stretching, such as increased flexibility, increased range of motion and decreased tension from stress, and incorporate them into your daily routine.

Achieve Greatness!

John Gutierrez

IFFH Trainer