Benefits of Stretching

Stretching has some great benefits, especially when done regularly. The more consistent you are with it, the more benefits you have. Here are just a few of the benefits of making stretching a part of your routine- at work and at home.

• Increased flexibility- by stretching out your different muscle groups, you release the tension and elongate the muscles, this helps you to be more flexible. Stretches work on lots of muscle groups.

• Improved health- by stretching you are removing the lactic acid from your muscles and providing fresh oxygenated blood to all the different muscle groups. The side benefit to this is helping your mental health as well!

Best practices for good stretching:

1. Hold your stretch for a few seconds to get the maximum stretch- don’t bounce.

2. Have your muscles warm before stretching, this will help make your stretches more effective. Think of a warm elastic band versus an elastic band that has been in the freezer or cooler. They don’t stretch as much.

3. Focus on large muscle groups or muscles that tend to get injured more frequently. This also facilitates the most stretching with the fewest motions.

Keep yourself moving everyday!