The stretching They are a type of exercise that consists of carrying out stretching of the various muscles either in isolation or as part of a training plan.
Benefits of stretching
Stretching the muscles is an important part of any physical routine, as it allows them to remain flexible and release tension. Likewise, these routines improve aspects such as the ranges of motion of the joints, coordination and balance.
Stretching is also an important part of rehabilitation programs to release muscle contractures, adhesions, fibrosis or inflammatory processes that affect the joint capsule or soft tissues, producing stiffness and limitation of joint mobility in disorders such as osteoarthritis, arthritis, capsulitis, frozen shoulder, plantar fasciitis, muscle shortening, and even fibromyalgia.
How to integrate stretching into your training plan
Every exercise routine should start with a warm-up phase that helps prepare the muscle for exercise, this consists of carrying out aerobic activity such as walking, jogging, cycling or swimming for a period of 15 to 20 minutes or until beginning to transpire. After this, exercise or physical activity follows and finally a muscle stretching phase must be carried out.
The muscles should be stretched smoothly and steadily, as far as the movement can be carried out without pain, in order to avoid contractures or even tear the muscle. After exercise, stretching helps prevent muscle stiffness due to the accumulation of lactic acid between the muscle fibers.
It is also important to control breathing during stretching, it is advisable to breathe gently while the movement is carried out, avoiding stopping the breath.
Can stretching exercises decrease muscle performance?
While stretching of the muscle is always insisted upon prior to physical activity, athletes may find that stretching may decrease performance as the muscle relaxes.
This phenomenon is more evident with static stretching, in which the muscle is stretched slowly and steadily, keeping it in its maximum elongation position for a few seconds before relaxing.
This has led many athletes to prefer to start with the dynamic modality of stretching, leaving passive stretching for last. The dynamic stretching consist of short and smooth repetitive movements, you can even carry out joint mobility activities, in which the movement of the whole body is carried out and stretching is included as part of this routine, which allows to achieve greater agility, also promoting muscular coordination.
Photos: iStock - skynesher / Andrew Rich
