The Importance of Stretching
Even though we get far less exercisethan professional athletes do, we still are physically active on adaily basis. We travel to work, carry things around, and spend our daysin front of the computer straining our back muscles, neck, fingersand wrists. Therefore, we too are prone to numerous injuries any timeof our day. So, just as athletes need to stretch before everyphysical activity, in order to relax their muscles and preventinjuries, so do average people. Stretching is an excellent everydayactivity, keeping us safe from harm due to muscle straining orsimilar actions our daily grind may trigger. Thus, in order for ourmuscles to be strong and function properly, helping us on a dailybasis, we need to develop a stretching habit and stick to it. Lack ofstretching in our lives may cause our muscles to get shorter, due totheir misuse. For those whose work implies sitting most of the day,this is very important, since their leg muscles get shorter andshorter due to remaining in the same position for a long time. Then,muscles contract, the pressure gets transferred to one's back andnumerous different problems emerge.
Why and How To Stretch Correctly?
Even though your work colleagues mayfind your actions strange, make sure you devote your free time atwork to stretching. However, if you are shy and do not wish to standout, you may stretch in the privacy of your home, before bedtime andearly in the morning.
When you start your stretching routine,make sure you do not overdo it. Rather, concentrate on moderatestretching in order to relax, not re-strain your muscles. Of course,you need to feel your muscles getting tight during your stretchingsequence. Still, this should not be too much. Thus, be careful inorder to truly benefit from these relaxation exercises.
Take your muscles into consideration asmuch as you can. Therefore, do not pull them to the extent ofinjuring yourself, which you can easily do by not being carefulduring these exercises. Rather, give your muscles a good pull, butremain in the comfort zone of your actions, ruling out any possibleinjuries.
Finally, once you are doing thestretching, make sure you feel the effect of it on the middle part ofthe muscle in question. If the stress has been moved to its ends, youare overdoing it and may injure your ligaments and tendons.Therefore, relax and be careful, since this exercises, even thoughmeant to help you, may cause more harm than good if you are notpaying attention to what you are doing.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...