It's crucial that we stretch before any sort of exercise. Stretching prepares the targeted muscles for exercise and helps to prevent any injury. When we're in a group or in a class we all stretch, this is because others around us are stretching and the instructor/coach is advising you to stretch, so you just do it right? This isn't the case when you're on your lonesome in a gym environment, I have seen this with my own eyes, the gym junky forgets about stretching and I think it's a combinations of bad habits, laziness and a stigma that stretching is for girls!
Many of us know that we should stretch, but choose not to. For ease we often skip the stretching and get into the weight or cardiovascular training. What if I told you that if you pre and post stretched after every workout you would ache less the following day or days, lift substantially more weight, look visibly more toned, and be able to with stand more strenuous cardiovascular training.
The connective tissues or fascia that surround a muscle can be very tough, they can usually constrict expansion and growth of a muscle. For muscle growth or hypertrophy to occur the surrounding fascia needs to be stretched, this in theory allows the muscle fibres room to grow.
Types of stretches:-
- Static Stretching
- Dynamic Stretching (Stretch is performed as you move)
- Passive Stretching (Stretch is performed with assistance)
- Active Stretching (Stretch is performed by actively contracting the muscle in opposition to the muscle you're stretching)
Top Tip
For muscle mass- Post stretch, stretch the target muscle after each set and hold it for 10 seconds, this will enable more potential for muscle fibres to grow!
For CV fitness- Pre and post stretch, try static stretches before and then passive stretches after your cardiovascular training.
