Stretching The Truth

There is a long time debate on when the best time to stretch is when exercising. Some say before some say after some say both. In my opinion I think it is up to the person that is doing the exercising.

Most people will tell you that you should stretch for a good ten minutes before hand. I don’t know about you folks but I get really bored and unmotivated if I spend more than 2 minutes stretching. Not to mention there is such thing as over stretching a muscle and reducing some of its ability to contract.

Warm up is crucial. Before exercising you should warm up. Depending on what your going to do during your work out should determine how and what muscles you warm up. A light in-place jog for about 2 minutes is a good idea to get started no matter what you plan on doing. This gets your heart rate up, blood flowing and oxygen delivery to your muscles.

Full motion range warm-ups are good to get the muscles that surround joints warm and ready for exertion. Injury prevention should be your first and foremost train of though. We all want to better our health and get in better shape but if you injure yourself it is counter-productive and can ultimately lead in the opposite direction of our goal. Neck, ankle and shoulder rotations get the muscles loosened up. You see the boxers before a fight rotating the shoulder and neck for a reason, not because it looks good for television.

Muscles are much easier to stretch when they are warmed up. This is a fact. So after a short warm up if you feel comfortable you can do a light stretch. Like I said, I think it depends on the person. Everyone’s body is different so everyone’s body may or may not require the same thing. Sometimes when I lift I find it much more beneficial to stretch after the first set, especially when doing bench presses. I tend to start out easy on the first set and this usually tells me exactly what muscles aren’t quite ready and need stretching.

Post exercise stretching I think is the most important. After any exercise whether rigorous or light you should always follow up with a good stretching session. Once again over stretching can become a factor and can cause discomfort and additional muscle soreness so don’t go overboard.

I’ll say it once again. I, in my personal opinion, think it all depends on the person. It depends on the persons body, the time and type of exercise and also, and extreme factor is age. Taking all of these into consideration you can best assess for yourself when the best time to stretch is and how comfortable you feel afterwards when all is said and done.

Folow this Link for some great stretching info Men’s Health Mag Stretching

Phot Source: Mens Health Online