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Muscle Flexibility
is Crucial to Strength and Fitness
by Barrett Niehus, AllTrainers.com
Article courtesy of MediaPeak, http://mediapeak.com
From childhood, flexibility has been emphasized as an important
part of an individual’s health. However, it is the most
overlooked part of a fitness and exercise program.
Most people understand that
flexibility and range of motion are important, but don’t
understand the actual influences stretching has on the body.
Unlike weight training and cardiovascular activity, stretching
does not burn significant calories, and is not usually
perceived as a body shaping activity. Few realize that
stretching before and after a workout adds strength to the
body, aids in the prevention of injury, and dramatically
increases recovery time.
Many people do not realize the impact that periodic stretching has
on the body’s fitness level, or its ability to perform. Stretching
before weight training can actually improve your overall lift
strength, as well as your endurance. When your muscles are not
stretched, and are cold, you have localized areas within the
muscle where the muscle fibers are flexed together. These
“knots” of muscle are already flexed, and often remain
flexed regardless of the range of motion of your exercise.
Because the muscle within these knots remain flexed, throughout
the range of motion, the knot of muscle cannot participate in
the lift. Subsequently, much less muscle and fewer motor units
are used for each repetition.
The result is less lift strength and slower progress.
Stretching before a workout counteracts these knots by pulling the
flexed muscles cells apart. This allows the cells to function
at their full range of motion, and contribute to each lift.
Stretching before a workout is paramount to realizing maximum
strength gains and necessary to experience the greatest benefit
during a workout.
Gains in strength are not the only benefit from routinely stretching
during a workout. After your cardiovascular or weight training
activity you should always stretch to allow your muscles to
extend to their fullest range of motion.
This provides two significant benefits. The first of which is
that it prevents your range of motion from becoming limited. This
prevents you from becoming muscle bound, and from having to work
too hard in your daily activities. The second benefit is that
stretching after a workout helps to remove the waste that has built
up in your muscles during the workout. This speeds muscle
recovery, and lessens the muscle soreness that
is typical of any fitness program.
Obviously, stretching in a fundamental part of any fitness
program. Although many recreational athletes do not actively
participate in a flexibility program, the benefits of such are
program are apparent. By stretching your muscles, you allow
full range of motion, and condition your body for optimumperformance.
Only by including stretching in your routine can you realize your
maximum potential.
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