You can improve your flexibility, no matter your age. Every day in Fort Lee, NJ, at least one person has pulled a muscle doing daily tasks. It can be as simple as bending down to tie your shoelace when you feel that searing pain shoot down your spine, hip, or leg. Stretching and flexibility exercises are vital to fitness. People who have a wider range of motion have fewer injuries in sports. It protects the muscles from injury. No matter how much you can lift, a pulled muscle makes you weaker than someone who never had strength training.
Before you get out of bed, start your flexibility exercises.
Doing deep stretches before your feet hit the floor can keep you limber and boost your circulation. Stretching encourages flexibility and is at the core of its training. It slowly warms the muscles, increases oxygen intake, and increases circulation to prepare the body for activity. It’s why you use dynamic stretching before you exercise. Once you’ve stretched in bed, put your feet on the ground, stand up, and reach for the sky. Put your arms perpendicular to your body and lean to one side, touching your right hand to the side of your right knee with the other arm stretched high. Return to the starting position and do the other side. Keeping your arms outstretched, twist your upper body with your lower body in place.
Do flexibility exercises after you do other exercises.
When your muscles are warmed, they’re more flexible so they stretch further without causing injury. It’s the best time to do static stretching. Before a workout, you do dynamic stretches. These are movements that mimic the activity you’ll be doing and gently warm the muscles. After you workout, static stretching gently increases your range of motion and increases your flexibility. Static exercises include toe-touching, all types of lunges, and calf stretches.
Try yoga poses or kettlebells for flexibility and strength.
Most people realize that yoga is beneficial for improving flexibility. Most don’t realize it can build strength, too. The same is true of kettlebell workouts. The cobra pose, child pose, and cat/cow poses combine to bring back pain relief and improve flexibility. Kettlebell workouts warm the muscles, build strength, boosts cardio, and improve your range of motion.
- Flexibility exercises put greater stress on the muscles. It improves muscle growth and prevents soreness. One study showed flexibility exercise increased muscle growth quicker.
- You’ll have better posture when you increase flexibility. You’ll also boost your energy by improving circulation and strength. Your body doesn’t have to work as hard when you have good posture.
- Take a few minutes throughout the day to stretch and lengthen your body. Start by trying to push your bead as high as possible, then lift your arms upward as though you were trying to get something off a shelf that’s too high.
- Throughout the day you can do simple stretches, even at your desk. If you’re seated in a straight back chair, try to get your elbows to touch behind your body. It opens the chest and boosts your oxygen intake. Shoulder rolls are also beneficial.
For more information, contact us today at VIP Fitness Center