Flexible body – stretching and flexibility training

You are dripping with sweat running on the tracks and add a few more minutes on the elliptical machine to burn a few calories then you are performing a long series of strength exercises and finally you get to smile to yourself with a sense of satisfaction I did it and there’s nothing more to do but shower.

Wait, not so fast, have you stretch your muscles and pushed and pulled in practice. Strength training and aerobic activity causes muscles to contract and to achieve a better balance has to stretch the muscles at the end of training.

Why stretch?

Stretching is very important component of any training.

Stretching exercises improve the body flexibility

Flexible muscles increase the body’s ability to perform everyday tasks. Tasks such as lifting objects, tying shoes lace and even running to the bus station are tasks that can be easier to perform after training flexibility.

Stretching exercises increase range of motion in joints

Greater range of motion will increase your balance and will keep your mobility high which will help reduce your chances of crashes – especially when older.

Stretching exercises improves circulation

Flexibility exercises improve muscle blood flow that can lead to improved and faster recovery after minor injuries in the muscle (as happens sometimes after high effort strength training).

Stretching exercises improves posture

Performing flexibility exercises regularly will keep the muscles in a right stress, so posture better will be maintained.

Stretching can help ease stress

Stretching relax the tense muscles, tense muscle is a common condition when the body suffer from stress.

Performing stretching exercises before training can help prevent injuries

Preparation and training of the joints and muscles can protect you from injury especially if the muscles or joints in the body are too stiff.

Important rules when stretching

Perform stretching exercises of large muscle groups

When you are performing flexibility exercises, focused on the twin muscle, thigh muscle, waist and lower back, neck and shoulder muscles also stretched and joints where you use your daily routine at work or in training.

Perform a light warm-up before stretching

When performing flexibility exercises cold muscles increases the risk of injury. Perform light warm-up before stretching; mild walking, jumping lightly in place, lightly wave you hands in the air. The best time to stretch is after a workout, because the muscles are warm and are more ready for the stretching.

Warning: If you intend to only do stretching in the end of strength training or aerobic, put emphasis on increasing the training load and efforts gradually.

Stay in each for minimum of 30 seconds

Muscle flexibility is a process that takes time. Stay stretched in one position for at least 30 seconds to 60 seconds for tense muscles or problematic areas in your body, then repeat the stretch for the other side of the body. For most muscle groups one stretch is often enough if you hold a stretch long enough.

Not to bounce (move) while stretching

Mobility while stretching can cause small shreds muscle. These tears leave small scars in the muscle when it heals, causing the muscle to be more rigid, less flexible and increased tendency to pain.

Focused on stretching without pain

You should feel the tension in the muscle during the stretch, but if you feel pain, it is a sign you starching the muscle too much. Return to the point in the stretch where you feel the tension without pain and stay there for 30-60 seconds.

Relax and breathe freely

Do not stop your breathing while performing flexibility exercises, breathe freely.

How often you should perform stretching exercises?

It’s up to you; if you practice regularly then you should perform stretching after each workout. If you do not train regularly you should do stretching about three times a week to maintain flexibility in the muscles and joints. If you have a specific local issue such as increased tension in the back of the leg, then you should stretch every day and even twice a day.
Careful!

If you suffer form a chronic problem or injury you should consult with a specialist or your family doctor before you start flexibility training.

The benefits of strength training

Strength training with weights

Aerobic exercise and fitness is essential for your health, but if you perform only aerobic exercise you are only doing the half-way mark. It is very important to combine your strength training with your aerobic program. Most studies done on the benevolent effects of strength training are a relatively new. But they all stress the importance and the contribution of strength training to improve the health. Common opinion is that even when we want to lose weight, strength training is equally important than aerobic training.

Strength training increases the ability to perform daily tasks

When you need to carry the groceries out to the house, play with your children or grandchildren, you use your body in a way only strength training can improve. Even get off a low, soft  and comfortable couch is an effort to those who are not accustomed to strength training.

If you never did strength training is usually within 3 months from the beginning of strength training you can see an improvement of about 50% of force, within a year you can pretty easily see an increase of twice the strength of what it was when you started.

Studies show that physical effort which is done regularly is the closest thing to a cure for aging.

Strength training is crucial to maintaining a healthy weight

After the age of 25, adult loses about 200 grams of muscle each year and also increases fat.  Fat doesn’t burn calorie, muscle does burns calories, even at rest. This results in maintaining a healthy weight especially when losing weight becomes more complex to achieve as we get older.

The best way to change this situation is by increasing muscle mass beginners to weight training carried out by appropriate and efficient strength training and aerobics training can also lose about 2 kg of fat and add approximately 1.5 kg of muscle activity in the first three months. They will burn approximately 150 calories by accelerating metabolism and at rest.

Strength training will make you feel better and show

Strength training make you feel stronger because you’re actually more powerful. Strength training will make you look better because the muscles will get stronger, your body will look fitter and better and you will get the body that everyone desire to have.

Because fat and muscle weigh more for a given body size, even if you  will not lose weight, your body will gets the shape and the proportions you want. Clothes will fit you better and people around you will see the difference after a few weeks. All this can be achieved only by gradual and controlled strength training.

Feel good at the end of strength training

After a good strength training has amplified blood flow to the muscles so we feel a feeling of fullness and firm. This feeling is familiar to people who are training and strength training a great feeling of “we did something for ourselves”. Strength training protect against Ustauforuciz (Osteoporosis).

Postmenopausal women are most at risk of bone mass depleted. Strength training can not only prevent the depletion of minerals that make up the bone mass, but even increase bone mineral concentration. One study showed an increase of 13% percent of bone density after four months of strength training. Of course you should also consume enough calcium, avoid smoking increased consumption of caffeine and alcohol.

Strength training strengthens muscles and joints healthy

When muscles are getting stronger the tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues getting stronger as well. This result in a lower risk of injuries and tasks we perform daily. If you do strength training regularly for a year, you will multiply your power within a year. This means that what you can do with both hands now, do in a year with just one hand.

Strength training helping with diabetes

Strength training reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and make it easier for those who already has diabetes. American Diabetes Association notes that strength training is critical to improve blood glucose disposal, after four months of strength training the improvement was 23% in glucose metabolism.

Strength training and moderating the effects of aging

Strength training can cause a person to be a strong as 25years old  at  50 or to 64 years old to be fit as 30-year-old.
Strength training can assure you healthy and independent life. Every decade, from the age of 20 there is a 14% decline in growth hormone. Today there are clinics that deal with the effects of anti aging using synthetic growth hormones.

Moderate to extreme aerobics training can raise the levels of growth hormone in the body in 150% – 250%, while high-level strength training can increase growth hormone levels by three.