Self Improvement with Irinä: Fitness: Workouts: The importance of stretching

Woohoo world!

Swiss ball is not only for sit walls and ab work.
It can help a lot with stretching too😊

This is a fitness/health related arcticle, aiming to explain the importance of stretching not only as a post-workout practice but as a staple in your daily life.

Stretching is easy, quick and holds multiple benefits for your physique, health and quality of life.

But, why? Let's take a closer look:

Stretching is a natural reflex. Most obvious reason to stretch is to relieve ourselves from muscle soreness caused either by poor sleeping position, or, a long day on the chair. It's an almost automatic reaction of our body to seek ways to restore back to normal

Another amazing benefit of stretch, is stress relief. Musicians stretch before their warm up on stage. Public speakers stretch backstage before hitting the stage. Stress tends to be stored in the muscle, and releasing before a stressful event or during a hectic day can give you a much needed boost on your mental health. No matter if you just hit a workout or you are simply sitting on the sofa, stand up and stretch!

With that out of the way, let's review the goodies we get in return, for stretching:

Stretching on a daily basis benefits

Physical and mental preparation to start the day. Stretching in the morning definitely boosts the energy levels and contributes to a better mood.

Posture improvement means moving with less pain everyday, having a much flattering silhouette, having correct breath intake and as a consequence, reduced tiredness levels during the day.

Prevention of muscle soreness and injuries [due to tightness], improvement of balance, increase of muscle flexibility (leading to significantly higher efficiency during the workout) and whole body strengthening (especially while performing dynamic stretching exercises).

Blood circulation booster which plays a key-role on shortening the muscle recovery time, promoting the organs' well-function and cell growth as well as equalizing the blood pressure.

Gaining control of proper breathing (mostly during of static stretching) automatically leads to balanced distribution of oxygen. This is essential for optimal performance on your workout since you delay the accumulation of lactic acid around your muscles (aka the pain when you are close to failure during a set).

Stress reduction is a result of 2 main factors that stretching targets: release of concentrated/build-up tension inside the body accompanied by endorphin production and secretion.Endorphins are kind of "miraculous" hormones responsible -among others- for your happiness.

Mind tool:

Stretching can strongly affect your ability to concentrate and focus, allowing you to maximize your efficiency on your daily activities and therefore improve your skills. It is a highly recommended habit especially for mentally demanding activities such as teaching, studying or working with data.

Sleep quality is based on the body's ability to relax, regulate the blood pressure and certain hormones along. To reap those benefits, stick with neck/head/shoulder'back stretching before you go to bed.

Some nice examples :)

Blood sugar regulation and potential decrease on fat storage. Extremely important and beneficial for diabetes patients.

10 minutes of dynamic stretching can be a great warm up before your workout. Prolonged dynamic stretching can serve as exercise for people suffering from arthritis. Such people usually stay inactive due to their condition, which indeed needs special treatment, but is frequently used as an "excuse" to skip. Dynamic stretching is 100% harmless as it doesn't strain the body and promotes muscle preservation.

Trance. Controlled breathing and concentration during a stretching session promote control over the flow of air and energy in the body. Said skills are highly associated with meditative activities and in many cases can help you achieve mind calmness.

*All of the benefits mentioned above refer to correctl stretching practice. Everybody has its own limits, range of motion and individual needs. Performing under a safe range of motion will not harm, strain or damage the body. Listen your body.

Thank you for being here and I really wish you will benefit from the information shared above. Always treat yourself with love, care, kindness, It's the most valuable thing you have!

If you found some value here, spread this energy around.

I am really looking forward to receive your feedback.

Till next update, stay safe,calm and take care.

Much love.

Irina