5 Benefits to Stretching Before and After You Exercise

Stretching is an essential part of a healthy fitness routine. It helps you get the most out of your workout by increasing flexibility (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-importance-of-stretching) and range of motion, strengthening weak muscles and joints, and improving posture. In addition, it can also reduce your risk of injury and improve your recovery.

Increased Flexibility: Regular stretching can help you improve your body’s flexibility (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/stretching/art-20047931), which increases the range of motion in your muscles, tendons and ligaments. This can lead to a variety of health benefits, including reduced stress and pain, better control over blood pressure and immune function, and improved overall wellness.

Athletes often stretch to warm up before they perform their exercises and after they complete them, but it can be beneficial anytime. The warm-up phase increases core body temperature, stimulates increased blood flow and prepares your muscles, tendons, and ligaments for activity.

Improved Posture: Performing exercises without proper posture can lead to muscle soreness and other problems. By stretching before and after you work out, you can keep your posture in place during the exercise and avoid painful injuries.

Boosts Your Energy Levels (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-boost-energy): A good stretch can revitalize circulation throughout your body and give you new energy for the workout ahead. This is because fresh blood flow will fill your muscles with oxygen, which will then be pumped to your brain for concentration and focus.

Lowers Your Risk of Injury: Stretching before and after a workout can reduce your risk of injury because it strengthens the muscles you will be using during the exercise, making them less likely to tear or strain. It can also improve your body’s overall flexibility, reducing your risk of common muscle aches and soreness that occur from overuse or repetitive movements.

You can stretch before and after a workout in several ways: With the assistance of a physical therapist (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm#:~:text=a%20patient's%20progress.-,Physical%20therapists%20help%20injured%20or%20ill%20people%20improve%20movement%20and,conditions%2C%20illnesses%2C%20or%20injuries.), you can learn about different types of stretches that are appropriate for your body and your specific exercises. The therapist can also help you find out which areas of your body have a limited range of motion and flexibility, so that you can properly stretch them before and after your exercise.

Don’t Overstretch: when you stretch, move slowly and gently until you feel your muscles are stretched enough to cause no discomfort. If you feel tension, back off to a point where you can’t feel any more stretch, and then hold that position. Make sure you breathe normally during your stretches, and don’t bounce as you stretch; this can injure the muscle or contribute to tightness.

Don’t Overstretch:you should never overstretch (https://www.stretchzone.com/blog-posts/myth-busters-you-can-never-stretch-too-much/) your muscles, even when doing ballistic stretches. A good stretch should feel tension rather than pain, and you should only hold a stretch for about 30 seconds or until the muscles feel relaxed.
It is important to take a break from your workout and stretch afterward, too. A good stretch can help you cool down your body and relieve muscle soreness that may be caused by lactic acid buildup in the muscles.