You have heard this before, that you must stretch before and after your workout to prepare your body for the workout and to recover without injuries. But is that it? Does it only prevent injuries and prepare your body for a workout? Not really.
Even if you don’t follow a workout regime, you can always benefit from a short round of stretching. Stretching is a blessing for your overall well-being. What we mean to say is that there are several benefits of stretching that can improve your overall well-being.
This blog post will discuss those benefits in detail
It can make your chores easier
If your day involves a lot of movements- running here and there or climbing up the stairs frequently, you can benefit from stretching. As you would know stretching improves flexibility. This means every physical activity you do, not just workouts will become a tad easier for you.
Let’s just say your day involves doing a lot of household chores like cleaning, cooking or rearranging your closets. If these chores require you to bend, squat, or sit cross-legged for quite a while, flexibility will decide if you’ll be able to excel in these movements and positions.
When you do stretching on a daily basis, you may be able to perform these essential everyday movements efficiently. You will be less likely to be tired.
It can help you know about your body imbalances
Let’s start this pointer with a little challenge. Can you hold a side lunge for a minute? If you are able to pull off a right lunge easily but struggle to perform a left lunge, it means your left side is not as flexible as your right side.
With this intel, you can focus on training your left side more to make it as strong and flexible as your right side.
Hence, stretching is a great way to identify imbalances in flexibilities. In other words, areas of tightness that need a little work. Undermining these problem areas can make you more prone to injuries.
It can provide relief from pain
You may not be in your 50s or 60s, but you can certainly feel like you are – all thanks to joint pains and back pains that have become a common occurrence even if you are young.
It’s unnatural to have body aches when you are young. Sadly, this results from a sedentary lifestyle that most of us lead – whether it is our desk job or couch potato lifestyle.
Having said that, staying in the same position all day long can make certain muscles such as hip flexors shorten and feel tighter. This is where a stretching routine can come to save the day and reverse the damage. It can alleviate pain by increasing muscle flexibility.
Make it a goal to perform 5 minutes of dynamic stretching exercises every hour. These can be simple movements that you can perform anywhere, such as swinging arms and hip circles. These may seem little but they can go a long way in preventing tightness and muscle aches.
It can help you relax
Juggling between personal and professional life, there may be a lot on your plate. So, we understand it is natural to be stressed.
But it is a no-brainer that you need to relax. You may have your own ways of relaxing your body and mind. But we suggest stretching. Stretching is easy to perform and it makes you feel good. Stretching may be as good as taking a hot beverage or a hot bath on cold winter days. It can help you reduce chronic stress which is harmful to your heart and overall health.
To add more benefits, you can also consider practising deep breathing. Every time you let out that deep breath, picture that you are letting go one problem at a time.
Apart from relaxing your mind, stretching can also relax your muscles. Relaxed muscles make it easier to move. It may benefit you, especially in winter when you find yourself too lazy to get out of bed.
Improves blood circulation
We all can comprehend why good blood circulation is important for the overall functioning of the body. One of the greatest benefits of stretching is that it can improve the blood flow to all the major muscles and organs.
As blood also carries oxygen, your muscles and organs can benefit from the extra boost.
Helps improve posture
A poor posture speaks ill of your personality – a bitter truth we need to accept with all our heart and mind. Nevertheless, a poor posture can also result from lifestyle and muscle imbalance. Combining stretching with strength training can help align your muscles and correct your posture
Closing thoughts
So, now that you are aware of the multiple benefits of stretching, not just for your workout sessions but for overall well-being, we hope you’ll include them in your lifestyle. Anybody can benefit from stretching, it doesn’t matter if you are in your 20s, 30s or even 50s. Your health will thank you later. Get started, today.
