The Importance Of Stretching Before Exercise

    Many people including myself have never taken the time to stretch their muscles before and after exercise and then we wonder why we are getting injured all the time. I have several exercise videos that start with a warm-up of stretches which I frequently fast forward. I want to get right on with the exercise, sooner started……….sooner finished.  That was my motto.  But I realized that’s really not the best approach.

It only takes minutes to stretch your muscles and by doing so you will pump more blood into the area that needs it thereby reducing the chance of injury.  Considering the time it takes to recover from a injury and the energy you  waste complaining about it, stretching is something that should never be left out of any exercise routine.

It is just as important to stretch whether you are on a resistance-training program or simply going for a walk.  Many different muscles are activated with the various types of exercise we do and it is essential to target those muscles when stretching.

If you are intending to do a heavy weight session on the lower body then you would need to warm up your leg muscles with some time on a stationary bike and then possibly touching your toes to limber up your lower back and hamstrings. Hamstrings another favorite muscle of mine that doesn’t like me.

If you are going for a run, you would also need to stretch your legs, and in particular your hamstrings, where many runners have problems.  Tight hamstrings can also create problems with your lower back so often the problem is coming from an area other than where the pain is felt.

Stretching should always be light and never forced as that alone can cause more injury than some of the exercises we perform.  You should never bounce when stretching either as this can tear muscles or strain them enough that they will tear during the course of training.

If you are doing resistance training it is wise to start the first movement of any exercise with little or no weight to get the blood into your muscles and warm them up for the heavier weights that are to follow.

After pulling a muscle in my neck which has taken three different doctors and several months to heal, I finally am taking my own advice and begin every exercise with  stretching first.