Stretch for Health and Fitness

Stretching is also the one element we tend to overlook the most in our standard, everyday lives. Weight lifters and body builders need to stretch and warm up their muscles and increase flexibility before their work outs. However, even the most experienced and professional body builders have skipped this step which has resulted in torn and loosening muscles. These disorders can take months to repair. The same goes for those who run, jog, or do aerobics, yoga, and martial arts.

Even if you are not engaged in exercising programs, you should still stretch several times a day. Start the day with stretching to prepare your muscles and joints for your daily activities. If you hold a job which keeps you moving, you need to keep your muscles and joints warmed up. But, if you hold a sit-down, office job, you need to stand up once in a while and stretch to keep you muscles and joints awake. It will also temporarily keep your mind focused on this quiet task which can lower you stress. Finally, end the day by stretching so your muscles can relax and lower your chances of muscle soreness. Remember, some of us move a lot when we sleep, but even those of us who do not move, we need every waken second to keep our muscles warmed up.

Try this sequence;

- Head Rolls: Look down, then roll your head to one side and back so you are looking up, then keep rolling in the same direction until you look down again, then keep rolling for 10 to 20 seconds. Change direction. (Especially if you sit down for most of the day, everything to do with your spine need to be stretched and warmed up.) Use this same motion to warm up your wrists and ankles.

- Leg stretches: stand up. Keep one leg straight back as you shift your weight onto the other, bending it as tight as you can. Shift forward and backward for 10 to 20 seconds, then shift legs.

- Shoulders and Arms: Clasp your hands behind your back and lift upwards. You can lean backwards to warm up your back muscles with your shoulders. Hold for a second and repeat for 20 to 30 seconds. Then, keeping your hands clasped together, bend forward and bend your arms up your back and straighten them again. Repeat this for 10 to 20 seconds.

There are other routines you can follow from other sites, or you can make up your own. Maybe your doctor has specific stretches for YOU to perform.

By: Jayme Key