Making the Most of Your Stretching Sessions
Whether you are warming up before a big game or exercise or just want to get more flexible and limber, stretching sessions are definitely the way to go. You can incorporate so many different stretches into a stretching session and make sure that your body is prepped and ready to go.
Getting Started - Learning How to Stretch
Even many people who think they know how to stretch are actually not doing it properly and so if you want to get the most out of your stretching sessions you first need to make sure that you understand about stretching and how to do it properly.
By stretching properly you will be benefiting in a number of ways, including enhancing your physical fitness, enhancing your ability to learn and perform skilled movements, increasing your mental and physical relaxation, enhancing your development of body awareness, reducing muscle soreness, reducing muscle tension, and reducing severity of painful menstruation.
Warm up is crucial in all stretching sessions. The general warm up should begin with joint rotations, starting either from your toes and working your way up or the other way around. This helps your joints get loose and limber and prepare for exercise or other activity. It is important to remember to include your fingers and knuckles, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck, trunk, waist, hips, legs, knees, ankles, and toes.
Once you have completed this part of your stretching sessions you should engage yourself in at least five minutes of some sort of cardiovascular activity, such as aerobics. This will help to get your blood pumping and get your body prepped for more serious activity.
Then you perform the sport, exercise or other physical activity that you were planning, and once you have completed it, you will need to perform your stretching sessions once again. This is almost even more important than stretching beforehand, because it gives your heart a chance to slow down and your muscles to relax but at a slow, controlled pace, rather than sudden, all at once.
By making sure to incorporate the proper stretches into all of your workout and other routines, you will be able to ensure that you get the best possible workout and that you lessen the chances of spraining or pulling a muscle or tendon. It does not take long and the benefits are truly astounding, as you can even help prevent yourself from developing osteoporosis and related diseases just by stretching properly.
