Stretching Beyond Your Workout: Here are the 5 Benefits You Gain!

Stretching is a necessity before any workout.

It’s a habit that keeps your muscles flexible. It reduces your chances of injury, while making your workouts more effective.

And because of those benefits – we recommend stretch as a regular habit!

Stretch Often – Workout or Not.

Why wait for gym time to start stretching? Why stretch exclusively before your workout routines?

You can stretch anytime, and anywhere. The benefits of stretching are numerous, and they make it worth the consistency.

And the best part is, it’s simple. You don’t need “complex tools” to get into the habit.

But let’s get into the details. Below, we’ll give you the top 5 benefits of stretching.

We’ll also mention some tips and routines to help you out!

#1 – Stretching Fixes Your Posture.

This is the most commonly known benefit of stretching.

Stretching can fix misalignments in your upper back and hips. It corrects your posture, ensuring that your muscles and ligaments aren’t strained.

And you’ll need to correct your posture often. After all, we spend a large portion of our days seated in cramped positions.

Most productive endeavors (work and school)demand seating for hours at a time. Done over a span of a few years, we end up slowly destroying our posture.

Posture Issues.

Areas that need fixing the most include the shoulders (slumping) and the lower back (hip tilts).

Slumped shoulders have more to down with muscle misalignment.

With slumped shoulders, a person’s back muscles are underused, thus underdeveloped. And there result is that the upper body is sucked forward.

This leads to slouching that’s bad for our necks and backs.

Lower back issues have to do with hip flexor misalignment.

Hip flexors tend to be excessively tight from sitting for too long. And this leads to the hips tilting forward, sucking the lower back in.

The result is an “S” shaped curve in the spine. The back ends up developing a duck like posture with a protruding behind.

Fixing Slouched Shoulders.

The fix for that is simple. You might need a mat, which shouldn’t be difficult to carry around.

• Start by laying on your stomach.
• Raise your arms behind you – and slightly above your back. Your arms should be parallel to your body.
• Slowly lift your chest and head up. As you do so, bring your hands together behind your back.
• Always ensure that your arms are parallel to your body during the motion.
• Hold the final position for 10-20 seconds before letting go.

Try to work your back muscles are you perform this exercise. Squeeze together your trap muscles (thus loosening and taking the pressure off your shoulders).

Also, note that this isn’t an exercise you can do all the time.

We recommend performing this every few hours, and when you have the space (which shouldn’t be difficult).

Fixing Hip Flexors.

You’ll need a mat for this exercise too. But you can do without one (providing you have a clean floor).

• Start by sitting on your knees.
• Lay out your right leg forward. Your left leg should stay in the sitting position.
• Slowly move your body your upper body forward. Keep your left knee on the ground, and your right leg in front.
• As you move forward, you should feel a tension in your left hip flexors. Once you feel a little tension, hold that position for a 20 seconds.
• Slowly return to the starting position. Then, switch each leg, and perform the exercise for the right side!

Important Note.

Don’t rush both exercises, especially if you’re new to stretching. Doing so comes with the risk of injury, especially if you’re not an athletic person.

Also, never push yourself in a stretch to the point of pain. Slight tension is enough to slowly unwind your muscles fibers.

Speaking of unwinding…

#2 – Stretching Helps You Relax.

Pain relief is one of the benefits of stretching.

It’s a way to soften muscle tissues. Stretching reduces muscular tension, thus reducing discomfort when you’re trying to rest.

In fact, when you stretch often, you can relax while being productive.

Also, stretching allows to move around easier. And, it lets you feel comfortable in seated positions for extended periods of time.

Relaxing Your Mind.

Consider stretching as a preliminary form of meditation.

It distracts your mind from muscular tension and discomfort. Also, it makes you more aware of your body.

It brings you mind into the present. It forces you to focus on posture, execution, position, etc.

And the reason for that is the nature of stretching. You have to do them slowly, while paying attention to signs of tension.

And all of that relaxes your mind. It shifts your focus from heavy (and often serious) thoughts, and to a body stimulating activity!

Minimizing Negative Emotional State.

It’s well-documented that exercising helps with depression (source).

It does so on a chemical level (through dopamine release). And, it does so on the psychological level, by bringing your attention to the moment.

Stretching does a similar job, and with minimal effort. And the best part is, you don’t need a certain level of fitness to stretch.

Nor do you need to do it every few days (like running or weight lifting).

You can stretch whenever your emotional state starts to tank. Also, you can do it in a scheduled manner to prevent negative thoughts from taking over!

A Routine to Try.

Note down the time of day when you usually experience negative emotional states.

This may be at night (after work or school), when you’re alone with your thoughts. Or, this may be after waking up, when your level of consciousness is still low.

Schedule full-body stretching exercises during those periods.

You can setup prolonged stretching sessions until you reach the desired effect. They can be as long as ½ hour if you need!

And if you desire, you can stretch with the intention to not relax. You can stretch to energize yourself!

#3 – Stretching Increases Muscular Blood Flow.

As we mentioned before, it’s a minor form of exercising. So naturally, it’ll improve your muscular blood flow.

If done correctly, you can slightly raise your heart rate after stretching. And this is beneficial if you’re working for many hours in a row!

A Common Scenario.

Let’s say you have an office job, and you’re working 8 hours a day.

It’s impossible to focus for 8 hours straight, even after taking breaks. Sitting at a desk and laboring for hours does get exhausting.

Here, stretching every few minutes will energize you. You can schedule every 30 to 45 minutes for a boost in focus!

Metabolic Boost.

Stretching is a good way to boost your metabolism (source). Though it might not be enough to trigger a warm up effect.

Regardless, it’s still effective as a mental warm up. You can use it to keep your mind sharp between long work sessions.

Avoid Low Blood Pressure.

Low blood pressure is the enemy of focus and productivity. It’s also the enemy of healthy living, where sometimes, blood pressure can hit dangerously low levels.

They may cause a person to pass out from fast motions (especially when changing from seated to standing positions).

Frequent stretching circumvents that problem. Because stretching itself requires a healthy level of blood circulation.

It’s a way of diagnosing circulatory issues within yourself. And if you find yourself dizzying from stretches, then it’s time to consult a doctor.

#4 – Stretching Maximizes Range of Motion.

Does your day involve much physical labor?

Maybe you work a job that forces you to move around a lot. You may be a delivery individual, a laborer, a mechanic, or an athlete.

If that’s your situation, then you need a healthy body. And you need to maintain a good range of motion.

Range of motion is one of the benefits of stretching. You get to you use your body to its fullest potential without over-straining yourself!

How?

Let’s go back to the first point (on stretching for better postures).

Bad postures come from a low range of motion. We under use many parts of our body, leading to their underdevelopment.

Over time, our bodies end up developing unhealthy biases towards certain movements and positions.

By stretching regularly, you not only fix posture problems. But, you also ensure that they never occur in the first place.

#5 – Stretching Helps You Age Gracefully.

We all want to stay as young as possible – even in our older years.

However, most people want to stay young in looks. And they neglect the underlying foundation of good health in later years.

You shouldn’t make that mistake. You need a healthy and energetic body to match a youthful appearance!

Stretching as a habit makes that a reality. You age with grace without suffering from any issues in motion, or unnecessary pain.

For example…

Improved Flexibility.

You’d be surprised at how satisfying it is to use your bod to its fullest potential.

Improved flexibility isn’t a trait that’s noticed by younger people. Its rewards show up in later years, when minor habits affect our overall health.

When your body moves flexibly in your 60s and 70s, people will notice that.

Contrast that to people with unhealthy postures that need tools to walk around (such as canes, crutches, etc.).

Staying Active in Your Older Years.

Exercising in your older years is a necessity to stay healthy.

The best way to ensure that is through stretching. It helps you approach a variety of activities, from running long distances to ones like weight lifting.

Athleticism aside, habitual stretching keeps you professionally active in older years.

Instead of retiring early and casting aside your professional skill sets, you can continue to work. Your sustained flexibility allows you to continue contributing what you love without retirement!

Some Tips to Help You Out.

While stretching is a low maintenance habit – there are a few guidelines to consider.

Some are safety oriented. And others will help you get the best out of your routine!

(A) Vary Your Routine.

Don’t stretch a part of your body while neglecting others. Try to design a holistic stretching program for your entire body.

(B) Vary Sustained Length.

You can hold a stretch anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. What you pick depends on your body’s tolerances.

(C) Get Help if Necessary.

Having an instructor to help you is always a bonus. They’ll help you find a safe stretching routine that suits your level of fitness.

(D) Breathe Properly When Stretching.

You can breathe normally or deeply (depending on your goals).

For the most part, we recommend normal breathing. You can try deep breathing if you’re stretching with the goal of relaxation.

(E) Consider a Group Activity.

Think of stretching as a precursor to yoga.

You can try it in a group. You can invite others for a routine with an instructor to guide you.

It’ll make the experience fun. And with a group’s support, you’ll feel a stronger desire to stick to the habit!

As Healthy Feels

March 3, 2020Healthy Living, Movement