Preparing For Your Workout
Setting time aside to warm your body up before starting any kind of exercise training is the usually the most sensible thing to do.
Aside from preventing a host of injuries, you can get a more effective workout by loosening limbs and joints that limit your range of motion.
Proper blood flow is necessary to execute a decent warm up routine, however when you observe many fitness enthusiasts in gyms and health clubs, they’re often performing improper stretches before their workouts.
The purpose of stretching is to improve range of motion, loosen muscles, increase heart rate, and body temperature but the incorrect method of warming the muscles could actually make training sessions worse.
Certain types of stretches can overstretch the muscles, which can create a loss in power, speed, and force production. This greatly effects progression in exercises and slows the overall development of the physique in the gym.
Knowing when to utilize particular stretches for their purposes is crucial to stay effective while training.
Dynamic Stretching vs. Static Stretching
Reiterating the exercises you’re about to perform is the concept behind body movements known as dynamic stretching. Execution of dynamic stretches are a brief snapshot of the exercise motions that will be performed during that session.
These stretches get our muscles conditioned for a motor pattern that the body will become familiar with, making it much easier for the nervous system’s response to the exercise.
Dynamic stretches should be utilized prior to working out because they engage motor patterns of the muscles without overextending the tendons and ligaments activated during the movement.
Static stretching on the other hand functions contrary to the method reiterating motor patterns. Static movements help lengthen the muscle by stretching the actin and myosin fibers past their normal range.
The extra flexibility gained from static stretching varies the motor pattern from the normal range, which causes other muscles to overcompensate for the imbalance.
This includes most functional body movements as well as motions during resistance training.
Static stretching is perfect as a post workout routine because it can target muscles rich in blood flow after exercising to improve flexibility. It can also reduce the ability of overactive muscles and improve workout performance.
Injured and tight muscles benefit from static stretching by increasing this blood flow and improving performance as well.
Stretch Exercise Recommendations
These are a few of my recommended video clips for good stretch routines to warm up with before your workout and cool down after. It’s best start with a few for either dynamic or static stretches and add more exercises with time as your flexibility improves with time:
Dynamic Stretching:
15 Min Stretching Routine
Static Stretching:
10 Min Stretching Routine
The Wrap Up
It’s important to include stretching into a fitness regiment, however stretching movements have to be incorporated into a workout properly. To engage the body with sufficient blood flow and range of motion, a dynamic routine would get the muscles and nervous system activated for peak performance. Static stretching post workout helps achieve maximum flexibility and muscle recovery for future training sessions the best.
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