What Is The Goal Of Stretching & Warm Up Exercises ?

We often experience soreness after joining the gym or doing exercises. Have you ever thought about why we experience this? This is because we skip the warm-up and stretching. All fitness industry experts advise their clients to incorporate stretching and warm-up exercises into their routines.

So are these stretching and warm-ups the same or different? Both are different exercises that are performed to help the body prepare for physical activity and optimize performance. Stretching helps increase the flexibility of the muscles and maintain the joint range of motion. Whereas, warm-up increases the heart rate and the oxygen supply to working muscles.

Here we will discuss and educate people about the necessity of stretching and warm-up before exercising.

A] Understanding Stretching

Do you often find that your thighs and lower back feel stiff or sore after extended periods of sitting? This is because of minimum physical activity. With such sore muscles, if you try to perform any activity, it can damage the muscles. Thus, stretching is very important to include in your daily workout routine. While stretching can be part of your exercise plan, even people sitting at desks all day long can do stretches while sitting at their desks.

Stretching is a type of exercise that makes the muscles flexible, long and lean and maintains maximum tenacity. The major purpose of stretching is to prevent any muscle injury while performing any activity. There are 2 types of stretching namely:

• Static: Static stretch is when you perform a stretch and hold the stretch for a few seconds.
• Dynamic: Dynamic stretching is performing a stretch where there is a gradual increase in the speed and range of motion.

Stretching is beneficial for people of all ages including elderly people who need stretching to improve flexibility and maintain balance and coordination.

B] Unveiling the Importance of Warm-Up Exercises

The importance of warm-ups is that it helps to elevate the body temperature. This high temperature leads to maximum extensibility of the muscles. With warm-up, there is continuous pumping of oxygen to the working muscles that prevents muscle soreness. You can bend your muscles more when their temperature is high and thus, prevent any muscle injury. A cold muscle is stiff and cannot bend to its maximum capacity leading to injury. It can be a normal walk, cycling or jogging before any high-intensity workout. Perform the warm-up exercises that are specific to the activity you are going to perform later.

If you want to go for a brisk walk, always start with a slow pace and then later on gradually increase the pace. The benefit of gradually increasing the pace is that the same muscle groups are involved in the high-intensity workout.

C] The Combined Benefits Of Stretching And Warm-Up Exercises

1. Injury Prevention

Gym injuries are very common injuries that we see if you are regularly working out. But it is very easy to avoid these injuries if you religiously perform stretches and warm-ups. When you perform stretching and warm-up there is sufficient blood and oxygen supply that keeps the temperature high and muscle flexible. This helps the muscles to contract and relax more effectively and avoid any injury.

2. Enhanced Performance

It is often believed stretching has to be done initially and then a warm-up follows. But, in reality, if you perform warm-up exercises before stretching, it leads to enhanced performance. Cold muscles might not perform the way you want them to as they are very stiff. They are more prone to injury because they are not flexible enough to stretch. Warm-up raises the body and muscle temperature which ensures adequate blood supply and makes muscles more pliable. You can push your body to maximum performance with a correct warm-up session followed by stretching.

3. Improved Flexibility

It is often observed that people who look fit might not be flexible. It is not completely wrong, as people with muscular bodies might have very tight muscles that have never performed any stretching exercises. For a body to be flexible you need a proper balance of warm-up and stretching. Stretching your muscles to gain flexibility is not a day’s work. You need to persistently perform stretches that will help your muscle to become flexible. It might take weeks or months to gain flexibility. Always follow your warm-up sessions with stretching to give maximum flexibility to perform the workout that you have planned. You can browse through our best stretching exercises and incorporate them into your exercise routine.

4. Increased Range of Motion

Have you ever tried to perform any simple exercise like touching your toes, at any random time without any preparation of the body? You might be not able to do it exactly as you thought you would perform it, or end up with a muscle twitch or tear or any injury. Why does this happen? It is because the muscle needs to be prepared for the kind of workout you are going to perform. A warm-up and stretching exercises prepare your muscles and body to perform that workout. A warm-up similar to the workout you want to perform prepares the muscle for that movement and increases its range of motion.

5. Mental Preparation

Every exam needs preparation. Similarly, exercises also need some kind of mental preparation and determination for execution. You cannot just wear your workout attire and start working out. A planned warm-up and stretching prepare your body physically and mentally to perform that workout. A simple warm-up exercise of air knee lift and leg stretching can prepare your body to perform a set of squats without any injury.

6. Muscle Activation

Chronic stress leads to muscle aches, spasms, headaches, muscle tightness and continuous discomfort. There is an accumulation of cortisol in the muscles due to stress. It is difficult for the body to perform any exercise without conditioning the muscles or under stress. Warm-up and stretching exercises help in muscle activation by releasing this chronic stress. It relaxes the muscles and prevents any muscle injury.

7. Post-Exercise Recovery

While we exercise, there is an increase in the temperature of the body, increased blood supply to the muscles, increased heart rate, and high blood pressure and the whole body is highly activated. Exercises release lactic acid in the muscles as a by-product of energy consumption. If this lactic acid remains in the muscles, it can cause muscle soreness. But, appropriate stretches post-workout help to remove that lactic acid through proper blood circulation. Stretching benefits muscles by cooling them down, reducing your heartbeat to normal, balancing your blood pressure and allowing your muscles to relax. This helps the body to recover faster from the workout stress and prepare the body for the next day’s workout.

Conclusion

Planning your workout in a comprehensive manner, including warm-up and stretches, actively helps you reach your fitness goals. Understanding the purpose behind incorporating stretching and warm-up exercises is crucial for maximizing the benefits of your workout routine while minimizing the risk of injuries.

It is crucial to know stretching techniques and warm-up exercises and proper timing for warm-up and stretching exercises. You can always reach out to a fitness expert to get a customized workout plan including stretching and warm-up exercises.