Stretching Continued:
In order, to correctly do static stretching, first you need to understand that it must be done slowly, with gradual control, making sure to activate elongation of the muscle through its full range of motion, holding the position for at least 15-30 seconds in a comfortable position that doesn’t involve any pain. Stretching is also a fantastic way to improve muscular balance and posture and can reduce the occurrence or risk of low back pain.
Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles attaching to the pelvis can help to dramatically reduce stress to the lower back.
Increasing Your Flexibility
As can be seen, stretching and increasing your flexibility can and will help reduce some of the factors that may be holding you back. A flexibility program should be part of your overall strategy program regardless of what you are trying to active in the gym. Stretching provides Key elements that cannot be achieved through any other form of training.
Stretching increases flexibility of the neck, shoulders and upper back, and may improve respiratory function.
There is no need to become as flexible as the Woman in the above picture, but it does clearly show that ‘Flexibility’ is measured by the joint’s capability to move through its full reach of movement. If your joints or muscles do not flax throughout their full range of movement, then you will not stimulate as many muscle fibres as you could have, slowing down the amount of mass you could have possibly created.
Flexibility training or stretching helps balance muscle groups that might be overused during exercise or physical activity, or as a result of bad posture. There are many benefits attached to performing a good flexibility program.
What are the benefits associated with stretching… let’s take a quick look.
A safe, effective dexterity training program will help to increase your physical performance.
A joint that is able to flex through a greater range of movement will require less energy to do so, with the added benefit of greatly decreasing any threat of injury.
It’s been known now for a long time among top bodybuilders that stretching helps to decrease any possible resistance in muscle tissue; therefore, you become less likely to become injured by pushing your muscles beyond the maximum range the muscle will tolerate during activity.
Recent studies show that slow, static stretching helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise by removing toxins, and ‘Lactic Acid’ that have built up during training with weights…this allows the trained muscle to repair fully.
Stretch Slowly
To properly perform any stretching movements, whether done by a beginner or someone with extensive training, you need to stretch slowly throughout the full range of motion, holding the full stretch for around 15 to 30 seconds. This must be achieved without the presence of any pain. Stretching also improves muscular balance and posture.
One benefit that tends to get overlooked from stretching is stretching helps to reduce, even helps lower the risk of low back pain. This is because the hamstring muscles, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles attached to the pelvis, greatly lowers the stress, because these muscles and tendons are straightened and relaxed during the stretching session, lowering back stress.
As you can see, flexibility training is one of the key components of a balanced fitness program and should be part of your exercise routine. All the top bodybuilders do some flexibility training after their initial training, so don’t you miss out on what the big boys already know, it’s a more important part of your training and probably more important than you will know.
The benefits that are gained through stretching can’t be achieved through any other form of training…so make it part of your weekly training program.
Stretching also benefits the flexibility of the neck, shoulders and upper back.
Whilst I’m at it let’s also take a glimpse at the fascinating subject of…‘Calisthenics‘
Calisthenics is a Greek word meaning, “Beautiful strength”. We now live in an age where almost every day we see some new fitness or bodybuilding craze hitting the high street, complemented with a new gadget or gimmick that promises sensational results without any effort on your behalf.
Therefore, a debate about Calisthenics may seem to be a bit out of place on a bodybuilding site, but as promised, I will give you the full facts regarding all training techniques It’s then up to you to do with it as you see fit.
I also understand that not ALL those who visit this site are indeed bodybuilders. Unlike bodybuilding which had become popular since the 40’s. Calisthenics has been around for thousands of years and during this time it has proven itself to be a very good way to improve muscle gain, maintain physical strength, and increase endurance.
Calisthenics is also an excellent exercise to help shape and develop a developing body to its fullest potential. It’s served as a base for many professionals and you will find it forming the basics for many exercise programs used by the armed forces from all around the world. Armed forces have been able to the properties of Calisthenics training to develop the tough physical and mental disciplines required to operate in some of the most threatening places on Earth.
Calisthenics is not the same as say health clue routines that concentrate on looking good, it’s more about …‘being good’.
It’s all about using the strenuous characteristics of Calisthenics to reach a more ‘elite’ level of fitness for both men and women. It’s also supremely flexible allowing those with little time, home-maker, mother, father or professional, as an example, the ability to fit it around their schedules.
The other thing about Calisthenics is as its name suggests, you don’t need any equipment, just an empty space large enough to perform the exercise, wearing some loose-fitting clothing.
Now, just before we get to grips with the concepts of Calisthenics, let’s go over some very important points that should also be included in any muscle-building or fitness routines.
‘Consistency’. This is such an important part of your overall training program, it’s paramount without a doubt, which out it you could never hope to grow muscle, lose fat or get and remain, fit. If you train 4 times a week then stick with those 4 days, come hell or high water.
‘Train smart’. It’s important to understand that if you train in a way that impacts on your next training session, you simply won’t be able to progress. Doing biceps one day and doing back the next, will over-train your biceps and under-train your back…both end up losing out. Instead, do all your pushing one day, your back and biceps, followed the next 2 days by all your pulling, back and biceps.
‘Taking regular breaks’. This is another mistake that people make regularly. After you have trained then you must allow your body time to recuperate, if you don’t then you have every possibility of reaching ‘Burnout’. You are then unable to train for weeks undoing any gains for the weeks or months before. Muscles take between 5 – 7 days to repair and hitting them too soon will retard any muscle building or strength gains.
‘Controlled Breathing’. During my many years in the gym, I have observed that many people tend to either hold their breath or breath at the wrong times. It’s important to get this right, not only do you need to get oxygen to the muscle group you are training, but holding your breath for example, will drastically interfere with your ability to lift heavy weights. This is a big subject so I will write a separate article on this issue in the weeks to come.
These are the 4 basics you should try to concentrate on for now. There are many more points to be made, but let’s not over-complicate this issue for now.
I hope you enjoyed this article and video, please come back I will be posting daily…