Stretching and Recovery Techniques

A Look at Some Stretching and Recovery Techniques

The first question to ask yourself is whether stretching is good for your body. The answer is yes. However the intensity of the stretching and recovery techniques should be utilized according to your body limitations or injuries. In other words, you should never try to force your body to do things or movements that feel difficult for it to move within your comfort zone.

Why Is Stretching Important?

Without proper stretching exercises our muscles tend to grow stronger and tighter at the same time, losing the ability to easily stretch. This results in various problems and reduces the efficiency of the muscles, often causing pain and sometimes even injury. With proper exercises and stretching, muscles can show better physical performance, reduced chances of injury, improve your posture and balance, improve muscle coordination and reduce soreness and aches.

How Is Stretching Best Practiced?

It is always advisable to warm up your muscles before you look to do any stretching exercises. As already pointed out, cold muscles are stiff and can cause acute pain if they are suddenly challenged by over stretching exercises. Warming up will result in increased flexibility and more efficiency. The intensity of the stretching exercises should be chosen according to your body structure, age and sex.

While stretching, try full range motions. This further increases the flexibility of your body. Remember not to strain yourself too much when stretching. Too much strain on your muscles can cause severe injury. Try to target a point where you experience mild discomfort. For balanced flexibility, try to work opposite muscle groups at the same time.

Use deep diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing to fill the lungs with oxygen with 2-3 deep inhalations so the feeling is felt deep into the lower lobes of the lungs. Then slowly release or exhale slowly through pursed lips to reduce exhale speed. This will allow a more thorough release in muscle tension and increase length of stretch rep.

A light cardio warm up can be ideal before a stretching session. This can be achieved by being on the treadmill for 5 minutes, jogging or cycling, etc. Always try to take normal breaths without ever holding your breath back. It is very important that you do not push the muscles to cross their limits. This will only result in pain and injury.

The stretching exercises are ideally slow and sustained. There should be no jerky fast movements or impulsive force on your muscles.

The Benefits

There are various advantages of the stretching and recovery techniques, if practiced accurately. Stretching can lengthen the muscles, improve their flexibility, and add to their strength, also making them better equipped against injuries and stress. Stretching can even help to clean the blood and thus helps with the vital systems of the human body.

With so many advantages for your body, stretching and recovery techniques are something worth considering. After all, it only demands a small part of your time, but gives you much more in return!

Tags:Recovery Techniques,Stretching

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Tagged with: Recovery Techniques • Stretching

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