Dos and Don'ts of Stretching

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:30:00 -0700

Have you been stretching? Stretching is one part of exercising that a lot of us let slip out of our routine. The thing is that stretching is actually really, really good for injury prevention as well as calming you (and your muscles) down after a good workout.

For a great list of stretching protocols, visit RealBuzz.com. In the meantime here are some highlights on what you should and shouldn't be doing:
Do . . .

Ensure that the muscles being stretched are thoroughly warmed-up
Stretch at the end of your training session
Relax
Breathe easily
Hold each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds
Follow an all-over body program for stretching to avoid postural imbalances
Follow correct technique – see the realbuzz.com guide ‘Exercises & Stretches - The no-nonsense guide’ for detailed stretching information and photographs
Avoid pain, stretching should NEVER be painful!

For the don'ts, just read more

Don’t . . .

Try and stretch cold muscles – it’s a recipe for injury
Stretch before your warm-up or workout
Bounce or rock whilst holding a stretch – you could overstretch and cause an injury
Hold a stretch for just a few seconds
Hold your breath
Focus on just leg stretches or just upper body stretches

Source

What Do You Know About Stretching?

FitSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:15:00 -0700

Ahh stretching. It feels so good to stretch your muscles. Since we don't spend nearly as much time as we should on this, it's important to make the little time we do spend count. Do you know the dos and don'ts of stretching? Take this quiz and find out.

Source

Take the quiz