Stretching is necessary for all people to maintain muscle elasticity. It’s a special type of fitness, which is aimed at the smooth stretching of the back, arms, and legs. It’s the best means to make the body more mobile and get it in good shape, and you don’t have to hit a jackpot at the best online casino in NewZealand. Is this type of fitness harmful? What are the most common myths about stretching?
It’s Only for Flexibility
Many people associate stretching with flexible gymnasts. However, it’s designed not only to increase flexibility. So, it’s done after a gym session to restore breathing, relieve tension and pain from tired muscles. Besides, it’s recommended to perform this workout even before gymnastics or strength training, as it prevents injuries.
Thanks to stretching, it’s possible to exercise intensely without the fear of muscle damage or dislocation of the joint.
Moreover, stretching improves blood and lymphatic movement in the body, which speeds up the metabolism and helps burn fat faster and more effectively.
These Are Only Static Exercises
This is a common myth that makes many people think that stretching is boring. In fact, there are both static and dynamic stretching. The first is an exercise where you need to stay in a static position for a while to feel the stretch. Such exercises increase muscle tone and help to relax the muscles in places of “clamping”.
Dynamic exercises, on the contrary, are performed with vigorous, wide, amplitude movements. The difference is that not only do the muscles become more flexible and elastic, but they also become more resilient. The dynamic program is performed both in the warm-up phase before strength training and for the calm down phase after it.
It Hurts
There is a perception that stretching is painful. It isn’t. Stretching involves doing it slowly and smoothly with a gradual increase in stretching. When the muscles have not been working for a long time, such stretching causes a pleasant sensation. During the exercise, it’s necessary to control the strength of tension: you can’t make sudden movements and jerks, so as not to get injured.
Pain happens only to professional athletes who do splits and deep bends. Ordinary people do gentle exercises in the frame of health-improving fitness.
There Is No Point in Exercising for Eldery People
Another myth has to do with age. Some believe that it makes sense to stretch only in childhood, when stretching is easier. Indeed, children are more flexible than adults, and, for example, it’s easier for them to sit on the splits. But it’s possible to do exercises for flexibility to become more mobile at any age.
Moreover, exercises are useful even for older people. For example, cardio and strength programs for the elderly may already be unsafe, while stretching is a gentle wellness workout. Smooth, gentle stretching will help strengthen the body, develop flexibility in the spine, and speed up circulation. And this will relieve back and lower back pain, improve posture, which usually deteriorates with age.
It’s Only for Women
Another common misconception. The ability to stretch really depends on the anatomical features. For example, because of the structure of the hip joint, it’s easier for women to perform movements with a large amplitude, and their connective tissue is more stretchable. But this doesn’t mean that men don’t need stretching.
Training to improve flexibility is important for men who emphasize strength fitness: stretching promotes faster recovery, relieves stress on the back, and prevents the risk of injury.
Thus, this type of physical activity has many advantages. Stretching should be done regularly, but in moderation, giving time for recovery. It’s optimal to practice 2-3 times a week. More frequent exercises can lead to overtraining and microtraumas.
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