One of the most important parts of exercise injury prevention is also the part that people tend to want to get past as quickly as possible: stretching. The right stretch can actually go a long way toward maximizing one’s workout potential while keeping soreness and even more serious injuries at bay. If you’re hoping to improve this oft neglected portion of fitness, then consider a new report that provides a brief introduction to the various types of stretching.
If you’re like many, then the mere idea that there’s more than one kind of stretching is itself a bit of a shock. The stretching that you’re probably more accustomed to involves taking a muscle, stretching it out, and holding it one place. This is known as static stretching.
Many fitness enthusiasts, however, will tell you that dynamic stretching is the way to go. This requires you to engage in repeated movements that stretch your muscles, essentially combining a warm-up with a stretch. You have to be careful with these, working with a trainer to make sure your form is perfect, but if you can get things down right, the benefits can be huge.
No matter what type of stretch you do, remember that you should feel tightness, not pain. If a stretch ever progresses to being downright uncomfortable, that could be indicative of an injury, or it could mean you’re simply bending too far. Don’t stretch so hard that you actually hurt yourself.
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