During a workout, when should I be stretching? Which stretches should I do and for how long?
If there was one area in a workout that is always over looked, is would be stretching. Most people head straight to the cardio machines, lift a few weights, and dart out the door. Lets face it, most of us are in a time crunch to get in and out of the gym in order to make it to work on time or for class. Stretching can easily be put on the back burner when attempting to squeeze in that workout. But reality is, stretching should be a priority in ANY workout.
Stretching should be performed before and after every workout. Why you ask? Prior to a workout, the muscles are cold and stiff. Stretching is vital to loosening up the muscles and preventing injuries — not just a pulled muscle, but stretching also works to prevent sprains and/or brakes. Start off with a short 5-minute warm up, such as walking and then follow it with a 5 to 15 minutes stretching session. The warm-up gets the blood pumping and warms up the muscles so they can stretch efficiently.
Sore muscles are a great indicator of a tough workout. You know you have had a hard workout when you struggle the following day to sit down in class or let alone walk to class. This is caused by a build-up of lactic acid in the muscle that is released during the tear of muscles while lifting weights or doing cardio. Stretching will prevent the build up of lactic acid and ultimately sore muscles. It definitely won’t prevent complete all soreness, but it will help!
The best part about stretching is that it can be done in as little as 5 minutes or as long as 1-hour. Stretching positions should include each of the major muscle groups and should be held for at least 20 seconds to get the maximum benefit in loosen up muscles. Be sure to hold the stretch… most people like to bounce in their stretches, leading to injury, which is one of the main reasons why you are stretching in the first place. So be sure to grab a stretching mat the next time you hit up the gym. With as little as 5-minutes, you really don’t have an excuse not to!