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Stretching Exercises

Thursday, April 17th, 2008 by Carol

Stretching exercises are recognized as a necessary part of any physical activity and many muscle and joint injuries have been prevented this way. Exercising can be further improved by learning some other points related to this. You are less likely to strain or pull a warm muscle than a cold one but it is just as beneficial to have cool down exercises after a workout has been completed.

Ok so none of what I have said so far is a secret but you would be amazed how many people do not do it but were you aware that you should also continue this stretching at the end of a workout as the muscles are warm and more flexible. For instance, stretching movements for a warm up only have to last a third of the time that the same movements do when you are doing a warm-down so need to last for about a minute.

When carrying out these warm-up stretches, perform them slowly and gently, returning to the starting position in the same way as this will provide the greatest benefit. Ideally the stretch should last a few seconds then a slow return because it is easy to damage joints or even pull muscles when this is not done correctly.

Do not jump from an easy stretching exercise to a hard one, but complete the easiest first and do the hardest last as by this time most of your muscles will be warm and it will make the difficult exercise easier. A neck workout is as important as the rest of your body and is quite easy, only requiring pressure from the palm of the hand as it rests against the forehead which can then be repeated at the side of the head and the back.

It is always a good idea to continue with this stretching at certain points in the workout particularly if a difficult exercise is about to be performed as it will help make the routine easier. Do not overstretch your self performing exercises you are not yet ready for just because there are others who can as this will cause further problems, so work to your own pace.

Do not expect your body to be able to carry out the same exercises and level of training every time you go to the gym because some days you will have a better workout than others; this is perfectly normal and to be expected. Also, it is advisable that you don’t work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days as the muscles grow during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.

The best exercises you can perform at the gym are those that will help your heart, lungs and stamina; called aerobic exercises they can include a whole host of regimes including running, stepping, rowing plus many more, all of which need large amounts of oxygen in the blood. Music is great to workout with as a regular beat helps when you are doing cardiovascular exercises and with the range of small, lightweight mp3 players available nowadays you don’t have to worry about damaging them.

Make sure you get a decent pair of headphones though because you will probably want your music loud but not everyone else will want to listen to it. Even if you do not intend to workout, stretching is an excellent way for the body to relax, especially if you find yourself in one position for a great deal of the day.

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