Have you ever stretched randomly or before exercise and instantly felt better? That is where the benefits of stretching start to kick in.
Most often, we don’t realize how much importance stretching has in our lives. Fitness enthusiasts who regularly go to the gym have stretching exercises in their warm-up sessions. But randomly stretching in the morning or after sitting in one place for hours is a great way to maintain optimal fitness.Â
If you haven’t included stretching in your gym routine yet, you’re still not late. However, if you’re concerned about the benefits of stretching, we have a list prepared for you.
Let’s get into the details.
Benefits of stretching
The best part of stretching is that it provides both mental and physical benefits.
Relaxation
Several studies indicate that stretching exercises activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Due to this, stretching can help us alleviate stress, and give a relaxed feeling.Â
That is also one of the reasons why we immediately feel relaxed after stretching.
Reduces stress
Reduction in stress levels is another benefit of stretching. It is because stretching makes our body release endorphins, which are mood-boosting hormones.
Then, the receptors interact with our brain to produce a feeling of relaxation, which leads to an immediate reduction in stress levels.
Increases flexibility
Stretching is especially useful for people who live a sedentary lifestyle. Fitness for elders is also essential, as bones and muscles become less flexible with age. However, make sure you don’t get any workout injuries during the process!
Apart from this, stretching extends our muscles to an extent, and it helps keep the muscles flexible. As our muscles become less flexible with age, stretching can help slow it down.
Reduces muscle soreness
While stretching before workouts is essential, have you heard about the famous concept of stretching after exercise?
Well, if you haven’t believed it till now, you should.
It’s because stretching after a workout can really help reduce soreness in muscles.
The explanation is that when we exercise, tiny tears are created in our muscle fibers. That is why our muscles swell a few hours after exercise. When we do stretching exercises, the blood circulation to these muscle fibers increases, which helps in reducing the soreness in muscles.
To prevent muscle soreness, you can also include a high-quality protein powder like Hyper Whey in your gym routine. Protein powders have many benefits, and they help enhance the muscle-recovery process.
Improves posture
Some workouts and exercises, especially when done the wrong way, can affect the posture negatively. Apart from this, muscle tightness can also be the culprit.
While exercising, it’s necessary to maintain proper posture. If this seems to be a hassle, you can always incorporate stretching and other exercises post-workout to improve your posture.
Improves performance
Have you experienced the muscles not responding properly when you run or exercise after a long time?
It’s because your muscles have become tight by not being used for some time.
In this case, stretching exercises can help improve performance and make muscles flexible.
With improved and flexible muscles, you will experience better performance as your muscles will be able to respond timely to an activity. It’s because your muscles are already prepared for the next step.
Reduced risk of injuries
The thing is, when we don’t work out, our muscles become tight. When these tight muscles are forced to exercise beyond their capability, they are at a higher risk of workout injuries.
People hitting the gym for the first time should consider this fact. Instead of doing high-intensity workouts immediately, you need to prepare your muscles. For this, stretching is one of the best ideas. However, you should include other exercises to make the warmup session better.
When your muscles have gained enough flexibility, they are ready to handle strenuous workouts as well.
Improves joint lubrication
We know that stretching is good for the muscles. But is stretching good for joints?
Yes!
Stretching exercises are a great idea to improve your joint lubrication. Want to know how it’s linked to joints?
The thing is, cartilage covers our joints, which acts as a protective layer to help in the smooth movement of joints. It also functions as a shock absorber to prevent pain.
When we stretch through a full range of motion, it keeps the bones healthy and prevents the cartilage from breaking down.
We also need to consider the fact that the range of motion is different for most people. In fact, it is your ability to move your joints in various directions. By stretching regularly, you can increase this range of motion.
Prevents back pain
With a decreased range of motion, your muscles become tight. In this case, you are more likely to strain the muscles in your back.
With regular stretching, you strengthen your back muscles, thus reducing the chance of a back injury. If you already have back pain, stretching can help heal it. However, it’s best to consult your doctor for a suitable exercise program in this case.
Take-away message
The benefits of stretching go beyond warming up your body for a workout. By including stretching exercises in your daily routine, you keep your muscles and bones flexible. This is also useful for people who don’t go to the gym.
However, if you’ve decided to overcome your gym anxiety and start the gym, you should still include stretching to prepare your muscles for activities.
So, it’s better to recognize the benefits of stretching to live a healthy and active life.
