Importance of pre and post stretching during a gym workout.
Before going into the main cause of today’s article, I’d like to highlight some pre and post workout stretches which are essential to warm up the body and get the muscles ready for the stress which comes with a full workout routine.
Pre workout stretches:
A lot of people usually ask, what are the pre workouts stretches that needs to be done to warm up the body for a full workout routine, here’s your answer:
What you need: A yoga mat for comfort. You can also have yoga blocks or cushions on hand for comfort modifications as well.
Here’s a list 5 pre workout stretches.
· Child’s pose
· Car-cow
· Donkey kick
· Bird-dog crunch
· Down Dog to runner’s lunge
Child’s pose
Get into a kneeling position on your mat with your knees hip-distance apart and feet together behind you.
Take a deep inhale, and on the exhale, lay your torso over your thighs, pressing your butt onto your heels and reaching your arms forward.
Think about lengthening your neck and spine by drawing your ribs away from your tailbone and the crown of your head away from your shoulders.
Rest your forehead on the mat.
Hold for three full breaths
Importance:
This move helps open up your back and shoulders for workouts of the upper body.
Cat-Cow
Start in a tabletop position with your shoulders stacked directly over your wrists and hips over your knees.
Slowly inhale, and on the exhale, round your spine, dropping your head toward the floor and lifting your belly button toward the ceiling. This is cat pose.
On the next inhale, lift your head, chest, and tailbone toward the ceiling, arching your lower back. This is cow pose.
Perform three slow and controlled reps.
Importance:
Cat and cow poses, and the transitions between them, bring awareness to each segment of your spine, and also help warm up the muscles in your back and shoulders.
Donkey kick
Start in an all-fours position with your knees under your hips, wrists under your shoulders, and your core engaged.
Keeping your knee bent and right foot flexed, kick your right leg up toward the ceiling. Pause at the top. If you feel this in your lower back, make sure you are keeping your spine neutral, avoiding any arching.
Return your right knee to the floor for one rep.
Perform five slow and controlled reps on one leg. Repeat on the other side.
Importance:
Donkey kicks warm up your glutes, shoulders, and core.
For a better understanding of the above listed stretches, refer to our YouTube channel. With link below.
Post workout stretches
· Hamstring stretch
· Arm and wrist stretch
· Side stretch
· Seated spinal twist
· Butter fly
Hamstring stretch
Nearly all workouts include some sort of leg movement, so this is an easy stretch you can do to help relieve tightened leg muscles especially after long cardio sessions or kickboxing. The legs also play a role in a lot of tension that can be felt in the lower back, so stretching these areas can provide prevention and relief of flares to the sciatic nerve as well.
Arm and wrist stretch
The arms, and especially the wrists, are often overlooked after many routines. The wrist is one of the most complex joints in the body, and allows a wide range of movement particularly for bodyweight and upper body exercises and movements. If you perform activities including push-ups, planks, mountain climbers or a lot of circuit training or bootcamp exercises, these stretches can be so vital in maintaining and improving wrist mobility, as well as providing some recovery to the upper and lower arms.
Side stretch
A good side stretch is another great movement to supplement at the end of any workout. Side stretches help lengthen and stretch the intercostal muscles between the ribs and abdomen, so it can be especially beneficial to include them after any core workouts in particular. They also work to improve the shortening of muscles that can occur from poor posture and long periods of sitting, and therefore are recommended if you have any extended period of sitting in your work or as part of any routine in your lifestyle. good side stretch is another great movement to supplement at the end of any workout. Side stretches help lengthen and stretch the intercostal muscles between the ribs and abdomen, so it can be especially beneficial to include them after any core workouts in particular. They also work to improve the shortening of muscles that can occur from poor posture and long periods of sitting, and therefore are recommended if you have any extended period of sitting in your work or as part of any routine in your lifestyle.
Refer to our YouTube channel to learn these to more of these stretches and how they are done.
When you’re tired, hungry and just finished working out, sometimes the last thing you want to do is stretch. While it may not always feel necessary, stretching is an imperative part of setting the stage for optimal recovery. By stretching, you allow your body the chance to gradually slow down your heart rate to its normal state, cool down the proper way, and more effectively break down of lactic acid – all of which set the stage for muscle recovery and repair, improve future range of motion and flexibility, and begin to increase blood circulation back to the muscles.
Thank you!