Stretching provides a variety of benefits. That is why people try to stretch anywhere and at any time. Doing so regularly may help increase flexibility and reduce the risk of injury. This is also the reason why your trainer emphasises stretching before your workout.
Stretching regularly helps reduce stress and body pain, increase flexibility, and improve posture.
Improves Your Posture
Muscle imbalance may lead to poor posture and affect an individual's alignment in the body. Regular stretching helps strengthen the affected muscles, encourage alignment and improve your posture.
Increases Your Range of Motion
Through regular stretching, one can improve their ability to move their joint through its full range of motion, allowing for more freedom of movement, greater comfort and efficiency in activities they are doing.
Better Flexibility
Stretching often helps individuals improve their flexibility; with better flexibility, one will be able to move more comfortably and perform daily duties more efficiently. Through this, it helps in delaying the effects of ageing, such as reduced mobility, in the joints and muscles.
Increase Blood Flow
Stretching increases blood flow to the muscles, which boosts oxygen levels and increases the number of nutrients that reach the muscles. Stretching may also help remove metabolic waste, such as uric acid, carbon dioxide, and ammonia.
Improves Physical Performance
Regular stretching may help individuals perform better when being involved with physical activities. It helps prepare the muscles for movement and improves flexibility and range of motion.
Stress Relief
Stress may cause one's muscles to tighten and become tenser, potentially leading to more pain. Stretching helps to loosen muscles that have tightened in response to the stress and helps the body recover from it.
Injury Prevention
Injury strikes could sometimes mean weeks, if not months, out of our fitness routines. Hence, stretching is a great way to ensure this doesn’t happen, as it increases blood supply and oxygen to your muscles and joints, allowing greater nutrient transportation and improving blood circulation throughout the whole body system.
Daily Activities Feel Easier
Increasing your flexibility won’t just improve your workouts but also make everyday life easier. You may not realise it, but there are a lot of daily tasks that involve some level of flexibility. Like squatting to sink in and out of a chair, leaning over to get in your car and hanging your clothes to dry. By boosting your flexibility with stretching, you’ll be able to perform these small but essential daily movements more efficiently and effectively.