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The Importance of Stretching
Do you stretch daily? Stretching is super important as it keeps your muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without stretching often, your muscles shorten and become tight. Which can put you at risk for joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.
For those of you working from home, are your hamstrings tight after sitting all day? That's due to lack of movement. Regular stretching keeps muscles long, lean, and flexible. Check out these awesome benefits of stretching regularly:
1. Improved posture.
The muscles of the chest, back (both lower and upper), and hips can cause poor posture if they are tight. Many of us spend a portion of our day sitting at a computer or looking at a phone or watching T.V (especially this past year!). When doing these activities your shoulders are typically rounded your head is in a forward position, which causes poor posture. You can improve on this by stretching the pectoralis, upper trapezius, and hamstring muscles, to name a few.
2. Improved range of motion.
As we age, our joints lose range of motion. Full body stretching regularly can help to improve this. Yoga poses are a great way to stretch your muscles and increase your range of motion. With regular practice, they'll improve your flexibility and range of motion over time.
3. Decreased back pain.
This goes along with number 1. Over time, poor posture in your back can create pain. In addition, if your hamstrings or hip flexors are tight, the lower back compensates and can develop pain. Stretching the leg muscles and the muscles mentioned above for posture will decrease back pain over time.
4. Stretching can help prevent injury.
This one is a biggie for anyone who exercises on a regular basis. Stretching before physical activity specifically helps prevent injury by bringing blood flow to the muscles, warming them up, and decreasing any tightness they might have to prevent a strain or a tear. Dynamic stretching is a great way to warm up before you workout, and be sure to also include time to stretch after your workout.
Stretching is important whether or not you regularly exercise. If you do exercise regularly, building recovery time into any training program is important because this is the time that the body adapts to the stress of exercise and the real training effect takes place. Recovery also allows the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. Recovery days can include Yoga, walking, or just stretching in your living room. A mix of active mobility exercises and low-intensity flexibility (stretching) movements are great to do on a rest day!
We offer online and in-person Yoga classes. Yoga includes a number of different stretching poses designed to make you more flexible. Whether you take a Yoga class or simply stretch on your own, make sure you are stretching your body everyday to avoid injury, stay flexible, and stay #EdgeSTRONG. 💪
Work hard, stretch harder!
