If you are not a fan of HIIT, cardio, or doing weights every day, and your body is sore, stretch! Before and after workout stretching helps loosen your muscles. It prepares your body for exercise, just like a warm-up. Also, your blood circulation improves and helps you feel energetic all day long. As a result, you will become proactive and do more in a day than you could before. This article lists out the benefits of stretching daily. Read on to get all the information. Scroll down!
What Happens When You Stretch?
When you stretch, you are lengthening your muscles as well as the fascia (connective tissue) that surrounds them. This releases pent-up tension and improves the overall movement of your body. Stretching does more than just making your body more flexible. It offers a ton of benefits that you need to know about. Let’s take a look at them!
8 Life-Changing Benefits of Stretching
1. Increases Agility
Stretching increases the overall flexibility and joint range of motion of your body. This improves your body’s daily performance and makes you more agile and quicker on your feet. Due to this, health and fitness experts recommend stretching exercises for seniors as well.
2. Improves Blood Circulation
Stretching increases the blood flow throughout your body. This helps improve the recovery time for any injuries and removes the useless by-products of muscle tissues.
3. Better Body Posture
You can improve your body posture by stretching everyday. Body posture is very important when it comes to the kind of strain your muscles experience. It determines where you develop aches and pains.
4. Improves Body Coordination
Stretching helps improve complete body coordination. As you begin stretching on a daily basis, you will also see an improvement in your joint range of motion, i.e., how far you can stretch out your joints. It also treats tensed muscles and reduces stress (emotional and physical).
5. Therapeutic Effect
Stretching is said to be a therapeutic release for mild depression and emotional stress.
6. Increases Stamina
Your stamina increases with daily stretching, which means you get more work done in a day. When you stretch daily, you tend to feel less tired and more active.
7. Relieves Body Soreness
Soreness in the body is caused by tension in the muscles. Stretching can relieve the soreness and stiffness, making your body more active and alert over time.
8. A Cure For Sleepless Nights
Stretching can help you sleep better as the muscles in your body are more relaxed. Stuart McDonald, a blogger, has tried stretching and shared his experience in a blog post. He says, “For me, however, stretching is about the experience during and after the stretch and it’s the most mindful way to exist. Not just immediately, though, not just the acute changes. I mean a long-term discipline of stretching and the changes it produces in my body. That experience — the freedom of movement, the freedom from certain pains, the feeling of comfort in my body— only comes about with a regular discipline of stretching combined with mindful meditation and strengthening (i).” To prevent injuries while you stretch, here are some techniques you need to follow to help you get the best out of stretching.
Techniques For Proper Stretching
Breathe Evenly
While stretching, regulate your breathing. Breathe in and breathe out for 3 seconds each. This helps your body relax while loosening your muscles and warming up your body.
Warm Up Before You Stretch
Before you follow an extensive workout routine, it is important to increase your body’s temperature with warm-up exercises. This increases blood flow to your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, making them more elastic and less likely to get damaged and injured. Jogging lightly or skipping for 30 seconds is enough to get your heart rate up and loosen your muscles. However, don’t overdo the intensity of the warm-ups.
Moving While Stretching
When you bounce around while stretching, it causes light tears in the muscles, which become scar tissue. Over time, this scar tissue hardens and decreases flexibility. Bouncing while stretching also prevents your muscles from loosening completely. Try your best to keep your balance instead of flailing all over. Use a barre to help you in the beginning and then slowly do the stretches on your own. Try to stay steady and keep your balance as much as possible.
Don’t Push Too Far
While a lot of people believe that you need to feel the burn while stretching, be careful not to push it too far. Stretching is meant to relax your muscles, not shock them into loosening up. The goal is to increase flexibility. Holding a stretch for too long or pushing yourself too hard can elevate the pain, or worse, cause an injury.
Stretching Time
Make sure you hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds. This is a good amount of time to help your muscles relax with each stretching exercise. You want to loosen up the muscles so that they contract again after you stretch. 30 seconds is the right amount of time to release any tension that has built up in your body.
Check In With A Doctor
Before you begin stretching daily, consult a physical therapist who can tell you the areas you need to work on and give you specific exercises to target them. If you have any aches in your body, it would be wise to check with a physical therapist before you start stretching.
Stretch In The Morning
Stretching improves your body’s agility, enabling you to get more work done in a day than you otherwise would. Consider starting your day with a few simple stretches. It not only wakes your body up but also sets the tone for the entire day.
Work Both Sides Equally
You need to perform each exercise on both sides for the same amount of time or number of reps to loosen up your muscles and increase flexibility all over your body. If one side hasn’t been stretched adequately, there can be a risk of injury.
Before And After A Workout
Stretching before and after a workout helps keep the body loose. This will ensure your body is not overworked and gives it time to gradually cool off after a workout. To improve your daily performance, here are a few stretching exercises that can help relieve your muscles. Understanding the technicalities behind stretching sets the stage for incorporating it into your routine seamlessly. Now, explore the practical side and learn how to start a stretching routine.
How To Start A Stretching Routine
Identify why you want to stretch, for instance, for flexibility or relaxation. Begin with easy stretches to warm up your muscles. Stretch your neck, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and avoid bouncing. Inhale before the stretch, and exhale as you ease into it. Make stretching a regular habit; do it at least 2-3 times weekly. Do not push too hard; discomfort is okay, pain is not. Start by incorporating gentle movement stretches. End with calming stretches to relax. Drink water before and after stretching.
Essential Stretching Exercises
1. Downward Dog
The Downward Dog is a standing yoga pose used to build strength in the entire body. It stretches out your shoulders, arches, hamstrings, hands, calves, and spine, giving you a full-body workout. It provides relief from headaches, insomnia, and fatigue. Since it is a mild inversion stretch, blood flows to your brain and calms the nervous system, improves memory, and relieves stress. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, vertigo, or are in the final term of pregnancy, do not do the Downward Dog exercise. If you have high BP or an injury on your back, shoulders, or arms, this stretch can aggravate pain. Beginner: 1 set of 4 reps Advanced: 2 sets of 10 reps
2. Side Bends
Side bends remove tension from your diaphragm, rib muscles, and the intercostal muscles between each rib. This allows your ribs to reach their full range of motion, giving an easy leeway for the lungs to contract and expand. Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps each Advanced: 2 sets of 15 reps each
3. Seated Spinal Twist
The seated spinal twist increases spinal flexibility by relaxing the back muscles. This exercise improves digestion and relieves backache, sciatica, and menstrual discomfort. It also improves the blood flow to your organs. Do not try this exercise if you have knee or lower back problems. Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps on each side Advanced: 3 sets of 5 reps on each side
4. Extended Child’s Pose
The Extended Child’s Pose is another flexibility yoga pose you can try. It stretches the upper body, focusing on your back and shoulders. Keeping your knees apart stretches the internal organs, while keeping them together gives the torso support and relieves back aches. Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps Advanced: 3 sets of 5 reps
5. Lower Back Stretches
These exercises relieve lower back pain and stretch the muscles in that area. They also tone the glutes and stretch out the connected muscles and tissues.
a. Knees To Chest
Beginner: 1 set of 4 reps Advanced: 2 sets of 10 reps
b. The Full Plank
Beginner: 2 sets of 1 rep. Hold for 20 seconds. Advanced: 2 sets of 2 reps. Hold for a minute.
c. Horse Rider Pose
Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps on each side Advanced: 2 sets of 10 reps on each side
6. Morning Stretches
Morning stretches help set the tone for your day. They increase your daily performance and are a great way to shake off any sleepiness. These exercises stretch out your body and relax your muscles.
a. Arm Stretch
This exercise stretches out your arms, elbows, and fingers. Beginner: 2 sets of 5 reps on each side. Advanced: 3 sets of 12 reps on each side.
c. Folded Arms Stretch
This exercise loosens up the muscles around your shoulders, arms, and back. Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps each Advanced: 2 sets 15 reps each
c. The Knee Bend
This exercise focuses on your leg muscles. Beginner: 2 sets of 10 reps each Advanced: 3 sets of 16 reps each
7. Self-Assisted Neck Stretches
Neck muscles need to be relaxed. When you sit for 8 hours at your desk, you are straining muscles that shouldn’t be strained. This causes aches in your body. Poor body posture, especially in the back, can strain your neck. To stretch these tensed muscles, you need to do neck exercises. Neck exercises stretch out muscles, fascia, and ligaments, preventing permanent damage. Neck exercises can also prevent premature joint degeneration and headaches. a. The Neck Bend Beginner: 1 set of 3 reps each side. Advanced: 2 sets of 8 reps each side.
b. The Neck Tilt
Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps each side. Hold the pose for 10 seconds. Advanced: 2 sets of 12 reps each. Hold the pose for 20 seconds.
c. The Neck And Shoulder Bend
Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps each. Hold for 10 seconds. Advanced: 2 sets of 12 reps each. Hold for 20 seconds.
8. The Hamstring Stretch
The exercise stretches your hamstrings so that when you workout or dance, you can move without feeling sore or fatigued. Beginner: 1 set of 3 reps. Hold for 15 seconds. Advanced: 3 sets of 10 reps. Hold for 30 seconds.
9. The Bend And Stretch
This exercise works on your entire body, relaxing all your muscles and fascia. Beginner: 1 set of 5 reps on each side. Advanced: 2 sets of 15 reps on each side. As beneficial as stretching is for your body, there are some situations in which you need to avoid these exercises. Here’s what you need to know.
When To Avoid Stretching
If you have any muscle strain, fractured bone, or joint sprain, stretching your muscles and ligaments can aggravate your pain and cause damage to your body. If you have acute body pains or sharp pains in any part of your body, check with a physical therapist before you stretch. Stretching the muscles around the affected area might cause permanent damage. If you are in the final term of your pregnancy, check with your physical therapist to find out what kind of stretching exercises you can do safely. Over-stretching in the late stages of pregnancy can lead to permanent damage.
an you tone your body by stretching? Stretching simply lengthens your muscles. You need to do strength training to build muscles, which is what gives you a toned body. Can stretching help you lose weight? Stretching only has an impact on your muscles. So, on its own, it cannot help with weight loss. It prepares your body for a strenuous workout session. Pair it with aerobics and strength training to lose weight. Why does it feel so good when you stretch? Stretching feels good because you are relaxing your muscles by stretching them out. This improves your body’s agility, making it easier for you to move and stay energized. Is there such a thing as too much stretching? Yes. With too much stretching, the fascial tissues lose their ability to recoil, and the inherent elasticity of these connective tissues disintegrates. As a result, they become less functional. Discover the power of stretching! Watch this video, and explore the benefits of incorporating stretching into your daily routine. Learn how it enhances flexibility, improves posture, and promotes overall well-being for a healthier and more active lifestyle.
