"Don't forget to stretch!"
You probably heard it before “Don’t forget to stretch!”.
There are many types of stretches that you can do.
We are going to talk about 2 of them in this blog.
Static and Dynamic stretching.
Static Stretching.
With static stretching, you don’t move your body but hold a specific position for a certain period.
Dynamic, on the other hand, your body moves gently and in a controlled manner.
When you try to relax but feel the muscle is stiff, static stretching might be good before exercising.
For example, if you feel tightness in your left hamstring, stretch and maintain the posture for 30-90 seconds.
Creating “bilateral-muscular” balance aids in the prevention of additional harm to the muscle and improves performance.
To do this, you can use a foam roller to stay in that spot for 30 seconds, or you can do regular static stretching for 30-90 seconds until you feel the release.
Once the body is more aligned, dynamic stretching will help warm up the entire body to be ready for your exercise.
You can spend more time after exercise for full-body static stretching.
For those of us who are a little older or haven’t exercised in a while, static stretching will be more beneficial, to begin with.
Benefits
- By lengthening the muscles, flexibility, and range of motion improve.
- Reduce stress. Stress and tension can cause tightness in the muscles.
- Static stretching along with breath work help release the muscle and relax the whole body.
- Helps muscles recover faster after exercise. It also reduces pain and stiffness.
- When done consistently, overall performance will improve.
- Stretching reduces the potential for injuries.
Dynamic Stretching.
Dynamic stretching is used to prepare and warm up the body for exercise or sports. As the name implies, it is an active movement of joints and muscles. It’s a gentle and controlled movement of multiple muscle groups.
Benefits
- Increase blood flow and core temperature to prepare for exercise.
- It’s a muscular activation.
- Increase joint mobility and flexibility
- Use as pre-exercise routine and warm-up process
The Secret To Longevity:
The secret to longevity is to keep your muscles lengthened so that energy may flow freely. When you wake up in the morning and before you jump out of bed, have a good stretch. If you spend long days sitting at your desk and staring at the computer, interrupt yourself and have a good stretch. If you feel aches and pains after a long day of work, shake yourself and have a good stretch.