I’ve been going to the gym faithfully for a little over 5 weeks now. At about week 3, I began to feel my muscles really tightening up. I didn’t have the range of motion I had had before. I’ve always been pretty flexible, even at my heaviest weight. So it was a really uncomfortable experience for me.

I began to add a stretching routine to my daily workouts. It didn’t take long for everything to losen up. But there was an added benefit. I was even more limber than I had been before, and it felt fantastic. I could reach things I couldn’t reach before. Every time I stretched, I had this amazingly “free” feeling in my limbs that just wasn’t there before. I’ve been stretching after every work out ever since.

But aside from how I feel, I wanted to know more about why stretching works and what it does exactly. Here’s what I found out.

Why stretch?

• Stretching not only improves your range of motion, but it also lowers the amount of tension in your muscles. That’s why it feels so good to stretch after a long and stressful day.
• Stretching increases your circulation which will help “wake you up” when you have that 3pm droop in energy at the office, or any time you need a quick “lift” in energy.
• Stretching can prolong your youth by keeping your muscles flexible like they were when you were young. And let’s face it. If your body feels young, so do you!

So what’s the best way to start stretching?

• Start slow. Especially if you are not a flexible person. If you feel any pain during a stretch, then you’ve stretched to far. Stretching should never hurt. It should feel good.
• If you are stretching before a workout, go easy on yourself. Your body is not warmed up and you will need to keep your stretches very gentle.
• If you are stretching after a workout, you can push yourself a bit further because your muscles are already warmed up. Just remember… no pain.
• Hold each stretch from 30 to 60 seconds. The tighter a muscle is, the longer you should hold a stretch (Just don’t go over 60 seconds)
• DO NOT BOUNCE! Bouncing while you stretch will damage your muscles and will result in them becoming even tighter than they were before. All your hard work will be for nothing.
• Balance your stretches. Don’t stretch one leg and not the other. Stretching is all about balance. It’s important to stretch both sides of your body in equal amounts to keep everything balanced.
• Don’t hold your breath during a stretch. If you feel like you have to hold your breath, you’re pushing to hard. Breath slow and steady through your stretch.