Why Stretching Before & After Your Workout Is Essential
The Rooted Expert
Anyone who has any experience with sports or the gym has probably come across some advice on stretching. It is an important part of any routine. Also, unlike some myths in the fitness culture, this one is on point. Although, there might be more to this advice than meets the eye.
Just like the benefits of The Rooted Co’s granola cereal & roasted muesli are multifaceted, so are the benefits of stretching.
Stretching isn’t only about sitting in uncomfortable positions for a long time. That advice might hamper your workout depending on when you do the stretching and how you do it. It’s all about the timing and purpose of the stretching routine.
Depending on when and how you stretch, you may have a great workout or even an ineffective one.
Simply put, we can look at stretching as two separate types. One being dynamic stretching and the other being static stretching. Both of these have their purpose when it comes to training.
Dynamic Stretching
Not a lot of people know of this as a form of stretching. This type of stretching is a set of movements that help stretch the muscles without making you too loose. It is done by keeping the stretches dynamic, which means you are always moving.
The timing matters when doing your stretches. Being too loose before activities such as lifting weight is not always good. It might leave you unable to work the muscles to the best of your ability since they’re in a more relaxed state.
Relaxing isn’t bad, though too much relaxing right before a workout might not be great for the session.
Dynamic stretching, just like the benefits of granola, is about striking the right balance. Like The Rooted Co’s granola cereal & roasted muesli, stretches are all about balance. The balance between being loose enough to perform activities but not so loose that it hampers performance.
When the muscles are warm and somewhat loose, they perform better. It can prepare a person to pick weights with greater ease since their muscles are ready. A good warmup is also important to avoid injuries from excess tightness.
So when does one do those long stretches which everyone talks about? The answer brings us to the second type of stretching.