Forgetting something?

Many of us will go to the gym and feel accomplished whether it was focusing on aerobic or resistance training. However, many people forget one thing to complete their workout. The step that many people miss is stretching.  Some people even know they're supposed to, but just may not feel that it's that important of a step when working out. Stretching as we know increases flexibility which can cause many strenuous activites to be less tiring. Stretching is also able to give you a full range of motion which can help prevent injuries. Finally it improves your circulation, this increases blood flow to your muscles and will help muscles in the recovery process so you are not as sore the following days afetr exercising. Now that we know why we should stretch I will also explain how we should stretch and some of the mistakes we make when occasionally attempting to stretch out. Before you begin to strecth you should warm up your muscles by doing a something with low intensity, or just stretch after you work out when you're muscles are warm.  Also, when stretching you should hold for about 30 seconds without bouncing around because that can cause small tears in your muscles.  Remember to make it a pain free stretch as well, this is where you feel tension but not pain, sometimes you  may be going to far with the stretch. Finally, remember not to hold your breath while stretching and continue to breathe. So, next time you go to the gym try some stretching after your work out and see how your muscles feel the next day.