Toning Tip of the Week: Stretch After the Warm Up!
A common habit for most people who are into working out is that they stretch their muscles before doing their warm-up exercises. Well, it is a widely-accepted habit among various gym goers and fitness enthusiasts, but little did they know that stretching after the warm up routine is way better in terms workout performance and endurance.
Why? Here are two important reasons:
- Increased flexibility. Since the muscles are already warmed up, stretching them would allow the muscle tissues to expand more and become more flexible towards the following routines it would do. Hence, your biceps, hamstrings and glutes would be able to move more freely and change positions easier during workout.
- Reduced risk to injury. With greater flexibility comes reduced risk to injury. Since the muscles become more flexible, they more they become capable of handling risky routines and heavier loads without incurring as much damage as compared to those who stretch before the warm up.
Aside from these reasons, increased flexibility, especially on the lower limb, not only involves the muscle, but the stubborn tendons as well. Tendons can be very lazy when it comes to workout, but with proper stretching, they can be utilized and worked out as well. Stretching after warm up also heats up the whole body, making the tendons more alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic.
Thus, before stretching, it is recommended to warm up the body first by means of brisk walking, stepping, jogging or cycling for at least five minutes. Increased body temperature followed by stretching would wake more muscles up, making them more useful during workout.
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