Practice Stretching at Home in Order to Stay Active
For both athletes and those who work out on a regular basis, it’s important to find balance within your training plan. And part of finding this balance involves stretching–a fundamental part of any physical routine. Today, we’ll tell you how to practice stretching at home and stay active even when you must modify your training program.
In today’s article, you’ll discover what stretching consists of and analyze its importance within athletic planning. At the same time, we’ll look at a series of stretching exercises that you can do at home without the need for any additional equipment.
What is stretching?
When we talk about stretching, we’re referring to an essential habit that you should practice before and after any intense training session.
The objective here is to stretch the muscles involved in order to increase the flexibility of your muscle groups. If you include stretching when warming up, then you should do so after performing a series of articular mobility exercises. You shouldn’t carry them out as the first part of your session.
Now, if you’re planning on stretching after you’ve finished training, the objective will be different. The purpose of stretching at the end of your training session is to help your muscles return to their natural state after an intense workout. At the same time, stretching has a great preventative capacity as well. It can reduce the rate of injury among athletes when they stretch properly (Gremion, 2005).
The importance of breathing when stretching at home
One of the components of stretching is the control over your breathing. Being aware of your breathing and controlling it helps make your movements more fluid. What’s more, this should always be a pleasant activity and never reach your pain threshold, as you’ll see below.