Stretching is simply the act of extending the body in all its length or only one of its parts. A regular stretching program can help lengthen your muscles and make activities of daily living easier. But how can this be achieved? Let's list the advantages of stretching.
1. Increase the amplitude of movements. By a certain arrangement of individual parts of the body, we can increase the length of the muscles. As a result, the total muscle tension decreases and the normal mobility amplitude increase. By increasing the amplitude of motion, we also increase the distance that our limbs can disperse before the muscles and tendons become damaged.
For example, the muscles and tendons located in the back of the legs are under great strain during a kick on a football. Thus, the more flexible and supple these muscles are, the more the leg can advance forward before the trauma or stretching occurs. Advantages of increased range of motion include increased comfort, more free movement, as well as a reduction in the predisposition to stretching muscles and tendons.
2. Increased strength. There is one "terrible" myth about stretching, according to which "if you devote too much time to stretching, you can lose both the stability of the joints and the strength in the muscles." This is really a myth. By increasing the length of the muscles, we also increase the distance to which they are able to contract. This leads to a probable increase in strength in the muscles and, thus, to an improvement in athletic performance, as well as to the improvement of dynamic balance or the ability to control muscles.
3. Reducing muscle pain after exercise. Everyone knows what happens when, for the first time in a few months, we decide to go for a run or go to the gym. The next day the muscles harden, hurt and freeze - sometimes even descend the stairs seems like a whole test. Such muscle pain, which usually accompanies intense physical activity, is called "pain in the muscles after training." This pain is the result of micro-ruptures (minor ruptures of muscle fibers), blood accumulation, and also accumulated products of vital activity, for example, lactic acid. Stretching, being part of an effective hitch (or exercises for relaxing after training), helps alleviate such pain by lengthening individual muscle fibers, increasing blood circulation and getting rid of the waste products.
4. Reducing fatigue. Fatigue is the main problem of any person, especially those involved in sports: it leads to a decrease in both physical and mental indicators. Increased flexibility, acquired through regular stretching, can help prevent fatigue, removing tension from muscle agonists. For each muscle of the body, there is an opposing or opposing antagonist muscle. If the opposing muscles are more flexible, the working muscles do not have to generate too much force to resist them. Thus, every movement of the working muscles actually requires less effort.
Additional advantages. In addition to the advantages described above, regular implementation of the stretching program also contributes to better posture, development of the healthy perception of one's own body, better coordination, increased blood circulation, increased energy, and the ability to relieve stress and get rid of stress.
Types of stretching
Stretching is more technical than swinging a foot near a park bench. There are rules and techniques that will help maximize the benefits and minimize the risk of injury. It is important to note that no type of stretching is better than the other. Each method of stretching has its advantages and the best way to get the maximum benefit from stretching is to be able to compare the right type of stretching with the goal that you set for yourself.
Many do not know that there are different types of stretching. Here is a brief overview.
1. Static stretching: Static stretching is the most common and recommended. Accept the position and hold it for 30 to 60 seconds. Frozen in a pose, you should focus on the sensations in the muscles. You should feel a feeling of soft stretching, but not pain. The main load is directed at the muscles. Soft effect on tendons and joints, it is stretching your weight, bending forward. It slats in an upright position, where the most important thing is to relax and "hang" with all the weight of your top. Twine, if you do not sit in it, also suggests relaxation, but only in the groin, not in the knees.
2. Active Isolated Stretching: active isolated stretching is the technique of stretch marks, in which each individual muscle is localized, isolated and stretched. This technique of stretching can be used for a good warm-up of muscles before and after training. It allows you to reduce the load on the joints, increase the range of mobility, stretch the muscles and get rid of "stiffness", which limits the range of motion of the joints and muscles. It is effective to use for this purpose a clothesline, a belt, a rope, a long belt or an elastic bandage. With the help of this rope, you can pull the part of the body that you stretch with your own efforts. Active stretching - when you take a position and then hold a pose without help, solely at the expense of the strength of your muscles. For example, raise your leg high and then hold it in this position. The tension of some muscles with active stretching helps to relax the stretched muscles (antagonists) by mutual balancing. The isolated stretching increases active flexibility and strengthens muscle strength.
3. Isometric stretching: Isometric stretching is an alternation of stress with relaxation. Consider the example of twine. Sit in the correct position on the twine, and then sink to light pain and strain the muscles of the legs as if you want to climb up with the strength of only the legs (maximum tension), hold for 20 seconds, then relax the muscles and sit down. And so several times.
4. Passive stretching: Passive stretching on the principle of performance similar to a static banner. The only difference is that with passive stretching you do not use your own effort, instead your partner helps.
5. Dynamic stretching: Dynamic stretching consists of controlled movements of arms and legs, which have a soft spring as part of your muscle capacity range. This can be as slow (movement with an accent), and rapid movement. An example of dynamic movement: put the palm as a target and do a swing in the palm, thus not passing into ballistic movement. Or do a free swing, but do not drop, but lead the leg. But this, of course, is more difficult than the option with the palm of your hand.
6. Ballistic stretching: Ballistic stretching is an uncontrollable movement as opposed to dynamic stretching. An example of ballistic stretching is a springy movement with good amplitude down several times to touch the toes in the crease. It is necessary to use this type of stretch carefully at the initial stage. It is useful for experienced athletes and dancers.
Each of these types of stretching exercises is useful in its own way. But it is very important to know when to use this or that species. To stretch should be treated according to the principle of "quieter you go - you will continue" since any trauma can distract you from success by several steps. So we are stretching with the mind!
