Is Flexibility Training Important?

July 19, 2016

Adding at least one day per week for stretching is so important for your body to recover after all of the strength training and cardio we put it through all week long. Plus so many of us sit at a desk for long periods of time throughout the week. Giving your body that opportunity to really stretch and lengthen out the tightened muscles is so important for our bodies.

I, myself, spend my “rest” day doing a yoga class at home on my Beachbody on Demand. It feels so amazing to really stretch out after all of the hopping and weight lifting I do all week long.

If you do any strength or resistance training you are building new muscle. You want the new muscle to be long and lengthened and not tight. If it is tight it can interfere with the range of motion (ROM) of the joint. So stretch after you train.
Maintaining and gaining flexibility decreases risk of injury from sports or basic activities in life (reaching into the back seat to get your fashionable, yet oversized purse).
As we age our tendons and ligaments lose their elasticity, so it is important to stretch to maintain the ROM of your joints. Plus stretching helps bring nutrients to the joints.
Stretching can improve your coordination. This is beneficial to sports but can help you out walking on rough terrain – a trail or a city street littered with potholes.

Just remember – Don’t bounce when you stretch. Hold the stretch for at least 30 seconds and it is best to do deep stretching after you are warmed up a bit. If you vacuum vigorously, why not stretch your hamstrings afterward. You can take one day to do a yoga/stretching type workout and really work your whole body, but you also need to stretch out your muscles after each workout. Very important when the muscles are still warm from the workout, to do quick 30 second stretches of each muscle you worked.