Fitness Gear: How Stretching Can Benefit Your Workout

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Monday, March 23, 2009

Stretching has been around for a very very long time. We see it everywhere we go, people doing Yoga, Pilates, sporting teams stretching before a game, sprinters and swimmers stretching before the competition. But does stretching actually help? Is there a bad time to stretch? If there is a bad time, when is the best time to stretch?

Well, incase you are wondering, stretching does help. It allows your muscles to relax, so many people tense up after workouts, but stretching helps those muscles to relax and grow better. As of when to stretch, it is not a good idea to just start stretching. Many people actually get injured when the first thing they do is stretch. It is better do a warm up before you stretch, so if you run in place or do jumping jacks, something to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed up before you stretch, that is the best time to stretch, right after a warm up. Another great time to stretch is right after a workout, it helps the muscles to relax, and recover quicker.

There are plenty of stretch exercises out there, like Yoga and Pilates, but there are also great stretch routines in the P90x routine and the Chalean Extreme workout.

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