Indice
- Stretching from home, better before or after training?
- Is stretching better to do it pre or post workout?
- What is it for? When to do it?
- Stretching before or after running?
- What types of stretching exist?
- Static Stretching
- Ballistic stretching
- Stretching PNF
- Dynamic stretching
- Myofascial
- The best dietary supplements for your training sessions
Doing stretching exercises is very important to warm up the muscles and to prevent injuries. The stretching activity can also be carried out comfortably from home in an effective way: special spaces or the use of any type of tool are not required for stretching.
Young and old will certainly remember the times of school, when during physical education lessons, before starting training we were asked to perform stretching exercises. The lengthening of the muscles has long represented an activity carried out and connected to practically every type of sport. Sometimes, in sport as in everyday life we find ourselves practicing stretching in a completely natural and unconscious way. Even the lengthening of the spine represents in fact a stretching exercise aimed at giving a boost of blood supply to the muscles of our body, as well as to the brain. The lengthening of the spine also aims to mitigate muscle stiffness, promoting the awareness of their organism in the individual.
In this article we will give you some important tips and tips to practice stretching properly and effectively-here's everything you need to know about this muscle warming activity.
Is stretching better to do it pre or post workout?
There are many sportsmen and in general people who wonder if it is better to practice stretching, before or after training sessions. To answer this question in an exhaustive way, we want to point out immediately that practicing stretching exercises before a training session can be extremely important and sometimes decisive in preventing the appearance of muscle injuries. Stretching also helps to improve the overall performance of one's muscles and consequently sports performance.
For all those people who like to train early in the morning or in the evening after a long working day spent at their office desk, stretching is a very important activity before training, to warm up and prepare the muscles contracted for physical work.
In general, we can say that it is important to perform stretching exercises, both before and after physical activity: the important thing is always to practice hot stretching, i.e. after a few minutes of preventive physical activity that will warm up the body and muscles.
We have stated that stretching is important and useful even after sporting physical activity: a drop in body temperature will in fact lead our body to a state of stasis and relaxation, allowing blood to return from the extremities of our body to the center, expressing itself in a more balanced blood circulation. Practicing stretching after a training session also helps prevent drops and muscle injuries.
What is it for? When to do it?
Stretching undoubtedly represents one of the most effective exercises to increase the flexibility of the joints of the body. Stretching is also an activity that allows the person to greatly improve their posture. There are many sportsmen and in particular runners or runners who combine physical activity with the most varied stretching exercises.
For a sportsman who carries out competitive activities, training frequently and intensely means having the muscles of the body very often contracted: to combat muscle contractions, stretching exercises represent one of the most valid allies for athletes.
Stretching before or after running?
Practicing stretching before running translates into many benefits for the muscles: stretching exercises prepare the body and muscles for the training session, increasing the flexibility of the joints, as well as body and muscle temperature. Another very important aspect of stretching is represented by the fact that these exercises are able to give an important boost to our metabolism, increasing and accelerating the supply of energy to the muscles of the body.
For runners in particular, dynamic stretching exercises (moving exercises that do not require maintaining a static position) are recommended. In this way the athletes will not risk excessively ironing the muscles, which are still partially cold. Only 10 minutes of stretching will be enough before a running training session. After the run, we can instead devote more time to stretching (about 20 minutes of exercises). In this phase of cool-down we will also be able to use other tools, such as one Medicine ball , Or even of Elastic bands ..
What types of stretching exist?
With reference to the different types of stretching, we immediately specify that the exercises that can be practiced are many. Regardless of the different types of exercises, for each stretching position, it will have to be held for a time of about 25, 30 seconds, without performing a tightening and without excessively straining the muscles. Let us always remember that the practice of stretching will never and in any way hurt and cause pain in the muscles.
During the exercise it is also important that our gaze remains fixed forward and that breathing is kept as regular as possible. To achieve good results and improvements, it will be important to perform stretching exercises with constancy. Let's see below the main types of practicable stretching exercises.
Static Stretching
For static stretching must be understood an exercise with muscle stretching characterized by an extremely short duration. Usually these exercises are characterized by the duration of a few seconds (approximately 4, 7 seconds).
Static stretching exercises are practiced after the training session and have the main purpose of returning the musculature to rest. Performing static stretching exercises before training could in some cases compromise performance: this type of stretching tends to slow down the muscle response, effectively preventing a rapid contraction of the latter.
Ballistic stretching
Ballistic stretching is another of the many types of stretching that can be practiced. In this type of exercise, the movement of only one part of the body is carried out, subjected to impulses and sudden movements, practiced in order to bring the affected joint, beyond the natural active ROM.
This type of stretching must be performed very carefully and for the first few times, followed by a trainer who will accurately illustrate the exercise. The latter could sometimes be more dangerous than useful, since it is not a technique of muscle stretching suitable for everyone, due to the fact that ballistic stretching, if practiced incorrectly, can be the cause of muscle injuries (in the case the maximum elongation capacity of the muscle was exceeded).
Stretching PNF
Lo Stretching PNF (Acronym for Proprioceptive Neuromuscolar Facilitation) is a type of exercise by which muscle relaxation is induced thanks to a programmed and selective stimulation.
This exercise is practiced with the help of two methods.
- Keep & Relax
- Contrai and relaxes
Dynamic stretching
We could define dynamic stretching exercises as a gradual increase in the extension of the joint: the goal of these exercises is to reach one's extension limit, in order to warm up the muscles and increase flexibility.
The gradualness that characterizes these exercises consists in the repetition of a series of movements, performed initially in a slow way and subsequently, when you will have reached a certain fluency, performed faster and with a greater extension.
Myofascial
Myofascial stretching is an activity specially designed and conceived in order to normalize the overall muscle tone, while giving greater elasticity to the fascial system that covers our body.
The main goal of this particular stretching exercise is to generate a relaxation in the hypertonic muscle chains, while stimulating the viscoelastic properties of the connective tissue, by means of a static guided elongation.
The best dietary supplements for your training sessions
Nutrition is known to play a fundamental role in the health and effectiveness of a training carried out in a calibrated and optimal way. A balanced diet is essential to perform in the best way during your daily training. FGM04 Is your trusted partner to buy the best Food supplements Commercially available, to match your training sessions and physical activity in general.
Test NU-TESS Coconut Protein Cream , A delicious cream, fragrant and simply delicious! NU-TESS is a delicious coconut spread, particularly rich in protein and totally sugar-free: the perfect product for a breakfast or snack before or after your workout.
To effectively eliminate liquids that stagnate in the body you can also try Reduxdren 10 Pvials of 15 ml , A high concentration dietary supplement, useful to effectively favor the elimination of liquids that stagnate in our body.
Image credits:
Girl stretching. Image of Drazen Zigic on Freepik
