“Stretching?”
” Why would I need to stretch?”
“I don’t have time for stretching.”
” I’m to lazy to stretch.”
“I know I need to stretch, I just don’t.”
“I have kids, so I don’t have time to stretch.”
Any of these sound familiar?
Have you ever had these thoughts? So have I! 🙂 So I’m here to help you by giving you some facts about why stretching is important and why we should take time out of our day to be kind to our bodies!
Benefits:
- Increases physical and mental relaxation.
We all have stress in our lives. If you could do something to decrease your stress or at least feel better, wouldn’t you do it?
- Releases muscle tension and soreness.
If you have just started an exercise program chances are you are going to be sore at some point. Being sore is not a bad thing but we want to make sure to release that tension. The best way to do that is to take 5 minutes and stretch our muscles. You’ll be glad you did.
- Reduces our chance of injury.
Whether you exercise or you don’t, we all are at risk of injury. Let’s say you fall down, well if you are in a stretching routine your muscles will have some give and have flexibility in them. If you never stretch and then fall the chances of you having a worse injury are very likely. Be kind to your body, being hurt is not fun.
- Increased muscular coordination and range of motion.
We lose flexibility due to being inactive and the aging process. As we get older we tend to need more joint lubrication and stretching helps with this. We can decrease our joint pain just by stretching our muscles, ligaments and tendons that surround our muscles.
- Increases Energy and Mood.
When we stretch our blood circulates better. We need to take a few moments each day to breath away the stress of the day and to move around. Unfortunately most of us are seated at desks or in our cars all day. It is not fair to our bodies to be cramped up all day. When we stretch you feel instant relief and it doesn’t take long.
So how do we get stretching into our day? You carve time out of our day for it. Take 2 minutes after you get off the treadmill to stretch. I know you have to feel a little tight after exercise because I always do. Stretch after a hot shower. Your body is warm from the water, so take time to stretch then. Instead of just watching television, stretch while watching your favorite show. Take a yoga or tai chi class. Our quadriceps, hamstrings, lower back and hip flexors help our posture but by stretching these muscles we can help our lower back pain. Be kind to your body, you only get one! 🙂