You don’t have to worry so much about not stretching the second you finish exercising, experts say.
Here’s whyand when to stretch instead.
Theres no arguing that stretching is a vital part of a well-rounded workout routine.
So why do we have so much stretching guilt?
Why we stretch to begin with
The purpose of stretching is to help our bodies move better.
When we dont have that, we run into problems, says exercise physiologistTom Holland, CSCS, CISSN.
The purpose of the warmup is to get the blood flowing and raise the core temperature, Holland says.
Its low-level aerobic activity that gets your body ready.
Warming up is basically moving slowly from a rested state to an exercise state, Milton says.
The cooldown is the reverse of that.
We want to move away from that sympathetic state at the end of a workout to move toward recovery.
Could some static stretches be part of that post-workout cooldown?
a physical therapist atATI Physical Therapy
But do they have to be?
Youre not preventing any injuries by doing it right after, Dr. Rubin says.
Theres no clear tie between stretching and athletic performance, he says.
How much should you really be stretchingand when?
Its joint mobilityand thats okay.
Being very flexible comes with its own issues, after all.
With mobility comes susceptibility to injury, Holland says.
The more mobile a joint is, the greater the likelihood of injury.
And at some point, the flexibility of a muscle begins to compromise its strength.
you might tip the scales of your athletic performance.
So how muchand whenshould you really be stretching?
(Just see to it your body isnt cold when you do them.)
Stretch only to the point of mild discomfort, not pain.
If youre holding your breath, youve probably gone too far, Milton says.
Its way more simple than people make it out to be.
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