Fitness 101: Why You Should Always Stretch after Exercising
Many people engage in exercise for various reasons. For some people, it could be a way to maintain their health. Besides that, exercise is also an excellent way to relieve stress. Whatever the reason, exercise is always a good thing.
However, many people often forget a particular aspect of exercise: stretching. Stretching is necessary to condition the body for exercise, but it's arguably more important to do after it. Stretching after exercising is a must for relaxation and cooldown, but not many people realise how crucial this is. For this reason, we'll shed light on this matter.
This article will discuss everything there is to know about stretching after exercising. Read on below to get started.
Reasons Why You Should Stretch after Exercising
There are many reasons why stretching after exercising is a must. These include:
Improves Heart Function
Tight muscles can cause a lack of blood flow to the heart, which can be bad for its function. Stretching after exercising helps improve blood flow to the heart, thus supporting its overall health and function.
Reduces Lactic Acid
When you exercise, lactic acid is produced in your muscles. This is also what's responsible for causing muscle soreness. Lactic acid is a waste product that's harmful to the body.
While lactic acid production is a natural thing during exercise, having too much of it can be bad for the body. Stretching helps the body swap lactic acid for oxygen, which is a natural way to metabolise it.
Prevents Muscle and Joint Pain
After exercising, your body might experience pain in its joints and muscles, especially if you're not used to exercising. This pain is caused by the body's response to a breakdown in your muscle tissues.
Stretching helps prevent this pain and, in particular, muscle soreness. By stretching after exercising, you bounce back to normalcy faster, thus preventing pain.
What Happens If You Don't Stretch?
Stretching is crucial for maintaining the health of your body post-exercise, but many people don't bother with it. This can harm your body's health in the long term. Think about it:
You might suffer from a lack of blood flow to the heart
You might experience muscle soreness more often due to lactic acid accumulation
You might experience pain in your joints and muscles due to muscle breakdown
These are just some of the problems you'll experience if you don't stretch. While these problems aren't necessarily life-threatening, they can still adversely affect your body's overall health.
Tips to Stretch After Exercising
Like many things, you have to stretch appropriately to ensure that your body will be in good condition after exercising. Here are some tips:
Start Slow
When stretching, make sure to do it slowly. A slow stretch ensures that you don't injure any muscles – or even your joints – in the process.
Make sure you keep your muscles relaxed and that the stretch is gentle. If you feel any strain, immediately stop doing the stretch and find a different approach.
Hold the Stretch
When you're stretching, make sure to hold the stretch for around 20-30 seconds maximum. You don't want to keep a stretch for too long since it can cause severe damage to your muscles.
On the other hand, if you don't hold the stretch long enough, you won't benefit from it. Thus, the time you maintain the stretch is crucial.
Don't Overstretch
If you keep stretching farther than you're supposed to, you'll stretch muscle fibres past their limits and make them weaker. Because of this, you'll be prone to injuries.
Be Consistent
The key to getting a lot of benefits from stretching is being consistent. No matter how busy you are, make sure to find time to stretch every day. The more you do it, the easier it is to get used to it.
Conclusion
Exercising is a great way to maintain your health. However, you don't want to neglect stretching after exercising. Stretching helps your muscles recover from exercise and helps improve your overall health. Exercising alone is enough to help you maintain your health, but stretching after exercising makes it even better.
Stretch Studio provides top-quality services for stretch therapy in Perth. Our team of certified flexologists will ensure that your body will be in peak condition, all for an affordable price. Reach out today to book an appointment!