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Stretching is
important to bringing mobility and flexibility to your muscles. It allows
quicker recovery by helping metabolize by products and reduces the risk of
injury over time. It also helps with tighter hamstrings, bad posture and rounded shoulders.
We have always been told to stretch before playing
sports and exercising usually by static stretching, which occurs by bending over to touch your
toes and hold the position until it feels uncomfortable. However recent studies from Hokkaido University have realized that many people couldn't jump as high or run as fast as
they could before they stretched. Static stretching appeared to cause the
nervous system to react and tighten the stretched muscle which is not ideal prior to resistance training or activities that require wide range of motion. Researchers
have however found static stretching is usually the best post exercise and
reduces the risk of injuries.
Since static stretching seems to be non-beneficial
pre-exercising, another way is to do dynamic stretches that use movements to take a muscle through its full range of motion. When performed correctly, dynamic
stretching warms up the joints, maintains current flexibility and reduces
muscle tension. This method of stretching is extremely useful for people warming
up for an activity that requires wide Range of motion such as athletes
especially when speed is involved.
My recommendation is to perform dynamic stretches before a workout and static stretches after the workout. Some examples of static and dynamic stretches can be found below:
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