What Is Muscle Stretching

Muscle elongation consists of offering the muscles to reach their normal state after an exercise routine, sport or extreme training and it is necessary that the muscle can cool down without problem. If you want to know more about what muscle stretching is, keep reading.

You already know that stretching is a physical effort in sports and training, so people who work in this environment know it very well; It is not about stretching the muscle, but rather about getting the muscle worked to be as flexible as it was before the exercise.

Before getting to perform exercises, the first thing to take into account to start the work well, is the warm -up of each of the parts of the body from head to toe and at the end of the activity, the elongation of the muscles must be carried out. Preventing cramps or other damage.

What do you need

•  Warm up before exercising.
• Prepare muscles for activity.
• Relax muscles.
• Ease tensions.
• Cool down the muscle after exertion.
• Relief muscle pain.

Instructions

After exercising or training, athletes must do a kind of disconnection from the previous activities carried out with a series of stretches in order to get the muscles to reach their normal state, which is known as stretching.

It is an opportunity to get the muscles to achieve the necessary flexibility that allows them to shrink and stretch without problems while they are cooling down after a sporting event, physical training, fitness exercises, among many others.

Everything you need to know about muscle stretching

1. The stretching should start at the neck, always maintaining a straight position and using the head in the possibility of getting each muscle to fall into place normally and smoothly, without dizziness or contractions.
2. The waist elongation has to do with the possibility of generating that the muscles can be flexible without pain by using the arms to balance the waist to all sides and points that can be avoided, thus avoiding any problem in this part.
3. In the front thighs, the elongation must be influenced by the purpose of flexing very well without having to any type of injury or pain, generating greater elasticity of the muscle that has been worked using the feet for this suffers.
4. In the back of the thigh, it is necessary to work on an elongation through which the possibility of extending them in a normal way without feeling much pressure or stretching is established, thus avoiding tears in this part of the body.
5. The muscles of the back of the calf or calves should be stretched after a hard training session without applying pressure, thus preventing the person from feeling cramps and pain at the same time.
6. The elongation time must be based on two things: the first one is to give each muscle of the body 30 seconds to do the work and for the whole body and as a second activity to perform, establish 10 minutes for the whole body.
7. Stretching is an activity that must be done in order to establish defense mechanisms for the muscles, against pain and any other problem in addition to injuries; It also helps with: Stretching the muscles well; Healthy, strong and healthy muscles; tones; Strengthens muscles; Increases flexibility; Improves joints; Safe and firm movements.
8. Stretching is an activity that should be done after each exercise or training that is, at the end of everything; however, before starting, you must take into account warming the body from the feet to the head, and thus have a protected body.
9. Warming up provides the body with: Increases heart rate; Warm-up muscles; Increase blood circulation; Oxygenate every part of the body; Sweat.
10. The sports activity is based on three well-defined moments that should not be separated from each other, starting at the beginning with the warm-up, in the middle with the development of the activity and at the end with the elongation, so everything will be complete.
11. When getting up, you should do stretching exercises that have nothing to do with elongation, since the latter offers diverse and different exercises for each of the muscles worked during sports, routine or training activities.

The use of warm-up exercises before any sports activity is given by:

1. Dynamic stretch.
2. Waist movements.
3. Heart racing.
4. Movements of arms, shoulders and neck.

During the sessions of the sports activity as such, in a game demonstration you can perform:

1. Activities related to any sport.
2. Training sessions.
3. I dance therapies.
4. Extreme sports.
5. Exercises to keep fit.

After finishing any type of sports activity, it is considered to stretch each part of the muscles worked with the following:

1. Arm stretch.
2. Leg stretch.
3. Slow squats.
4. To walk.
5. Hip and waist movements.
6. Lower and raise your arms outstretched.
7. Raise legs.
8. Flex your thighs forward while walking.

People who lead a sedentary life can do warm-up exercises when they wake up in the morning as well as stretching exercises in the middle of the day to avoid any muscle strain and eliminate tension in the muscles due to inactivity.

Exercises you can use to stretch during work hours may involve certain body parts such as:

1. The back.
2. The neck.
3. The arms.
4. The legs.
5. Wrist and elbow exercises.

During pregnancy, women think that they cannot exercise due to their condition; but they can do muscle stretching especially if they have cramps, spasm or muscle pain or even tension.

At this stage, the elongation of the muscles can be the possibility of improving blood circulation, having the possibility of offering oxygenation to each part of the body that releases the overload that it carries in the womb.

The elongation that pregnant women should do to release tension in each of the muscles should consist of:

1. Back exercises.
2. Neck exercises.
3. Stretch thighs.
4. Raise legs.
5. Gluten exercises.
6. Relax tensions in the joints.

Being pregnant in a condition and not a disease, for this reason you should take into account the possibility of establishing a stretching routine that will not affect the physical condition of both the fetus and the woman.

It is a way of stretching each muscle that avoids being destabilized, maintaining a balance throughout the body that strengthens each muscle and joint in order to have quality of life and avoid cramps and muscle pain.

What you need to do to stretch every muscle in your body is as follows:

1. Stretch your neck, shoulders, waist, hips, thighs, and back.
2. Stretch forward, back and to the sides.
3. The muscular elongation of each part should not exceed 30 seconds to avoid problems.
4. During stretching sessions you have to take into account the use of breathing for best results.
5. If you have had back problems or injuries, both cervical and lumbar, elongation stretching is not highly recommended, so before doing it you should always ask the doctor who treats the injury.
6. Carry out the stretching exercises slowly and progressively to establish a limit between muscle tear and the pain that stretching can cause and thus take care of the body from all this process of problems due to excessive stretching.
7. In the long run, muscle elongation can provide the body with a better balance when it comes to mobilizing, improving limb problems and thus generating that the person can handle or move quickly and quickly.
8. Before doing muscle stretching, warm-up or sports, it is essential to have a medical check-up that includes all kinds of analyzes and the observation of the doctor, as well as to attend to the specifications that the doctor sends.
9. When having any problem during a muscle elongation, take the precautions of visiting the doctor to avoid any type of injury, remember that if you are a sedentary person you should not make efforts to which your body is not used to.
10. Many times it can happen that after an elongation you feel a muscle tear, for which you must have a specific treatment and of course the proper attention of the doctor, who will establish how to treat it if it is mild or carry out surgery if it is serious.
11. Visits to the doctor prior to a sports or physical training session should take with you everything necessary to submit an evaluation if you can perform said activity; therefore it is better to medically establish a start than to do it yourself individually.
12. Stretching and warm- ups that are for the lower back should always have a doctor’s approval to avoid any type of inconvenience that could aggravate the situation of those who want to do this type of exercise.

Tips

• People with back injuries should not stretch.
• If you have had surgery on your lower back, ask your doctor if you can stretch.
• Establish safety mechanisms that prevent muscle tears.