Work out school- section #2 of 8 - Stretch

You might have heard this before, stretch is important after each workout. 

What is stretching
Its what it sounds like, it's when you are stretching out your muscles to its fullest length (without snapping it of, of course) to make it more elastic and keep a good range of motion.

Why stretch
Its also to help your muscle recover after working out. The muscle is kept elastic, and a stretched muscle fascia gives the muscle room to grow in. Endorphines  is released during a stretch so it feels good doing the stretch.

Why not stretch
Some people say that where lifting heavy weights its not good to stretch because an elastic muscle doesnt help the lifter as a short muscle do. What you should know its unclear of the effects of a stretch if it is good or bad, but since it feels good afterwards its recommended.

How to stretch
Take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Its important to have good breathing technique what ever you do because you relax and do not waste energy on breathing.
Hold the stretch for somewhere between 20-30 seconds. You should (not a promise) feel after about 20 seconds that the muscle relaxes so you can stretch a bit longer. This is natural so dont be afraid, as long as it not hurting.
Relax in your body and stretch out the big muscle groups:

• legs front - take a firm grip of your ankle pull it towards the butt until you feel the stretch in the front thigh muscle.
• legs back - put one foot on a chair, straighten out that leg and bend slowly forwards until you feel the stretch in the back muscle of the thigh.
• butt - put one foot on a chair, do not straighten out that leg and bend slowly forwards until you feel the stretch in the butt
• back - bend over and hang down towards ground until you feel the stretch in the back. You might feel it in the back of the legs or but as well but thats quite common
• chest/biceps - hold one arms horisontally sideways and use a wall to be able to stretch the chest muscles. This will also stretch the biceps if you keep the arm straight
• triceps - point one arm in the air, bend your arm so you touch your neck with your hand, you should feel a stretch in the back of the of the upper arm. 

This is for starters and when you do this as a routine go into stretching muscle by muscle.

How not to stretch
You have probably seen this in the gym, the two second stretch or stretch that looks like they hurt. A stretch should never hurt! If so, stop what you are doing immediately and ask a professional for help

This is by no means the absolute truth, it is the view of the author and if there is errors in the text, please inform about it by mail to per@hrahk.se or in the comment form.

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