The Benefits of Stretching—Plus 5 Stretches to Do Post-Workout

We’ve been putting in the effort and making it a priority to workout (go us!). We’re painstakingly selecting our workout outfits, purchasing the best equipment and being extremely careful with our form. But when it comes to stretching post-workout, well, it’s something most of us almost always skips.  Does that  sound familiar? It’s easy to come up with an excuse—not enough time, you think you’re flexible “enough”, you don’t need to bother with that. Well, sorry to be the one to share the news—stretching is one of the most important aspects of fitness.  It can be used in recovery to help enhance athletic performance, prevent injury, reduce any muscular pain and restore and improve range of movement.  We’re breaking down the benefits of stretching, plus giving you five stretches to do after your workouts. Your body is going to thank you, we promise! Benefits of Stretching  Reduce Muscle Soreness  We all know that feeling when our muscles feel tight, sore and stiff after a training session. This soreness is because of micro tears within the muscle fibres and accumulated waste products such as lactic acid. If these toxic substances are allowed to build up in our body they will cause muscular pain and stiffness the day after you workout.  Stretching can help to alleviate this pain by lengthening the muscles fibres, increasing blood circulation and removing waste products. By removing waste products we allow for the delivery of essential nutrients and proteins to the muscle tissue, this can be extremely beneficial when recovering from an injury. This cellular exchange that occurs when removing waste products from the body and replenishing your muscles with nutrients and proteins, will help us to maintain healthy muscle tissue and speed up recovery.  Increase Blood Circulation  Stretching can help to improve circulation by increasing the blood flow to your muscles. It also increased delivery of nutrients to the muscle tissue, while simultaneously removing any waste products and toxins. So this helps to facilitate the recovery process and repair muscle tissue.  Improved Range of Movement  By increasing our range of movement, we’re allowing ourselves a greater ability to move more freely and reduce the risk of muscle and tendon strain injuries. When stretching we’re able to restore and improve the length of our muscles, creating a reduction in muscle tension and thereby our normal range of movement is increased.  Along with the benefits listed above, having a regular stretching program will help to improve posture and relaxation, and provide stress relief. It will also help you to develop body awareness and coordination and may also increase your energy levels.  Add the following stretches to the end of your training sessions. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat the sequence 2 to 3 times. Remember to breathe and gently move deeper into the stretch each time you exhale.  STRETCHES Downward Facing Dog Benefits: Energizes the body  Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves and the arches of feet Strengthens the arms and legs Beneficial for sciatica  Steps to follow: Come onto the floor on your hands and knees, with the knees directly below the hips and the hands slightly in front of the shoulders.  Spread your palms out onto the mat and tuck your toes underneath. Exhale and lift the knees off the floor, straightening the legs and coming into a high plank position.  Exhale and lift the hips up and away from the shoulders and lengthen the spine.  Press your hands firmly into the floor, rotate the forearms out and draw the shoulders away from your ears.  Lengthen the backs of your legs by pressing the heels down towards the floor and try to lift the tops of your feet towards your shins.  Modifications: If straight legs feel too intense, bend both the knees and focus on keeping a long spine.  Hold for 30 seconds. High Lunge  Benefits: Stretches the groin and hip flexors Strengthens legs and arms Steps to follow: Start in Downward-Facing Dog Pose.  Exhale, and step your right foot forward between your hands.  Try to align your right knee with your heel so you create a right-angle shape with the knee and it stacks directly above your ankle.  Keep your left leg strong and engaged with your hips in line and press the ball of your foot into the floor.  Position your palms or fingers on the floor on either side of your leg and try to keep the stomach engaged so you are not relaxing the stomach down onto your front leg.  Roll your shoulders down and backward, lift your head and gaze straight forward, keep the upper body forward so you create a strong line from your head to your heel. Repeat on the opposite side.  Modifications: Drop the back leg down to the floor if the stretch becomes too intense. If this feels uncomfortable place a folded towel underneath your knee.  You could also place a yoga block either side of your right foot and place your hands on top so you are able to keep length in your spine.  Hold for 30 seconds. Figure 4 Stretch  Benefits: Stretches the piriformis and glutes  Stretches the lower back and hips  Steps to follow: Lie on the floor with your knees bent and place your feet flat on the floor. Place your right ankle on top of your left knee and keep the right foot flexed.  Reach through either side of your left leg to hold the back of your left thigh and interlace your fingers.  Gently pull the left knee towards your chest using your arms and relax your back and head down onto the floor.  Repeat on the opposite side.  Modifications: If this is too intense to bring the knee in towards the chest, you can simply leave the left foot on the floor and hold the figure 4 position here.  Hold for 30 seconds. Wall Chest Stretch Benefits: Stretches the pec major and minor  Steps to follow: Take a split stance, by taking the left foot forward and right foot

Are Your Workouts Too Intense?

The vast majority of Americans don’t exercise nearly enough. But those who get bitten by the fitness bug sometimes take things to the extreme right off the bat—and yes, there is such a thing as workouts that are too hard. Especially in cities like New York and Los Angeles, where high-intensity, push-yourself-to-the-max workout classes have taken off over the past 10 years and people run from stressful meetings to stressful training and barely leave time for sleep. “Overtraining is a specific term and type of fatigue,” explains Albert Matheny, an incredibly smart, credentialed trainer who co-owns Soho Strength Lab in New York City. Matheny says most people, aside from some fitness instructors and serious fanatics, don’t “overtrain,” but many are doing the wrong thing the wrong way every day at the gym. “People are just doing too much zero-to-sixty type of exercise,” he says. “It is not an intelligent way to work out if you sit all day then try to go max effort in a 45- to 60-minute class.” The Intensity Issue The biggest culprit? “HIIT is the most common cause and doing it too often,” he says. While the exercise method is incredibly effective and efficient, it is not meant to be done every single day for long periods of time. It should also include proper warm-ups and cool-downs and be paired with adequate recovery and restorative exercises like yoga. RELATED: A Master SoulCycle Instructor’s Guide to Workout Recovery “it is never good to go at 100 percent [effort] every day,” Matheny explains. “One to two times a month is okay, but every day exercise should not really exceed 90 percent effort.” How to Tell if Your Workouts Are Too Hard The signs of pushing your body too much are different for everyone, but Matheny says some hallmarks ones to look for are a lack of improvement or decline in performance, growing apathy toward workouts, and having an elevated heart rate when waking. Doing HIIT constantly or going to max-effort spin classes multiple times a day could also mess with your metabolism by spiking your cortisol levels, especially if you’re not recovering and re-fueling properly. “If you don’t eat properly and vary your workout modality and intensity, then you will not recover muscularly or hormonally,” he says. “If you do exercise correctly, it is the BEST thing for metabolism.” RELATED: 5 Surprising Factors That Affect Metabolism What to Do So how do you push yourself hard enough without going overboard? Matheny says the right intensity level is different for everyone based on your training history and the type of workouts you’re doing. If you can work with a trainer to get it right, definitely start there. If not, make sure you’re incorporating plenty of strength training, not just non-stop cardio. And “not doing HIIT every day is my best recommendation,” he says. “ You should be pushing to 100 percent in workouts no more than once or twice a month.” Your max heart rate should be between 60 and 85 percent in regular workouts, and the bulk should be below 80 percent. “Overtraining also has a HUGE recovery component. If you are not fueling after your workout, sleeping, or doing things to aid recovery then it is much easier to get overtrained.” In other words, don’t run in late after the warm-up, bolt before the cool down, skip eating in favor of happy hour drinks and then get four hours of sleep. You’d never, right?? (Featured Photo: Shutterstock)

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How to Stretch After a Workout

I know I’m not alone when I say that I fall short (big time) when it comes to taking time to stretch before and after a workout. In a group fitness class, I’m thankfully forced to stretch. Although, I’d be lying if I said I never snuck out early. When it comes to a run, home body workout or weight training on my own, I get at most a “C”. I need to up my game here. Stretching is super important in protecting your joints and muscles and preventing injury and we all should be making it top priority – just like our workouts. In the video above, Liz Germain from Super Sister Fitness takes me through a basic stretch routine that we can all add to our workouts. The key is to start doing this after every workout until you feel like your workout isn’t complete without it. Throw down a towel or mat and let’s go!