Benefits of home fitness stretching

For the vast majority of ordinary people who exercise at home, the core benefits of insisting on stretching that suits their own conditions are that it can reduce the probability of home sports injuries by more than 70%, significantly relieve delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise, and long-term persistence can also improve bad posture caused by daily sitting, improve sports performance, and relieve nervous tension.

To be honest, when I first started working out at home, I didn’t look down on the ten-minute process at all. After each 30-minute HIIT dance or two sets of dumbbells, I would go directly to the refrigerator to drink an iced Coke, then slump on the sofa and check my phone. I felt “I’m so exhausted that I don’t have time to stretch.” As a result, my calves were as hard as old pickled hams the next day, and I limped down the stairs and my colleagues teased me whether I secretly climbed Mount Huangshan on the weekend. Or my knees were tight when I was doing weight-bearing squats. I lost my footing and sprained my feet. I couldn't jump for half a month. Fortunately, I just renewed the fitness challenge membership the week before, and all my money was wasted.

Regarding the timing and type of stretching, there are actually different opinions in the fitness circle, and there is no absolute "standard answer". The owner of a studio I know that specializes in strength training always tells students that if you practice explosive exercises such as aerobics, burpees, and rapid strength cycles at home, it is best not to do static stretching for more than 30 seconds before training. Existing research has confirmed that long-term static stretching Stretching will temporarily reduce the output power of the muscles, but it will easily lead to instability and injury when jumping. He generally recommends that you do dynamic stretching before training, such as hip joint circles, arm circles forward and backward, high leg lifts, small jumps, etc. It is enough to move the joints and warm up the body. But another friend of mine who does sports rehabilitation has a different view. He has treated too many people who have been injured during home fitness exercises. Their joint mobility is particularly poor. For example, they can’t touch their toes, can’t lift their arms naturally above their heads, and even bend down to pick something up. Jin, in this case, even if you are practicing explosive events, you can do 5-10 minutes of low-intensity static stretching before training to open the restricted joints first. Otherwise, the movements will not be done properly. For example, if you cannot squat deeply and have to bend down to get the angle, it will be more likely to hurt your waist and knees.

Speaking of which, many people think that stretching is only useful when exercising, but this is not the case. I was a freelance writer when I was young. I used to sit at home every day to write articles and sit for more than ten hours a day. My shoulders were so round that I felt like I had a small pot on my back. My trapezius muscles were so hard that I couldn’t even press them. I bought a massage card worth thousands of dollars and felt so comfortable that I returned to my original shape within two days. Later, I asked her to do 10 minutes of pectoralis major stretching and upper trapezius stretching before going to bed, regardless of whether she was exercising or not. It was just two movements that she could do facing the door frame, and no complicated instructions were needed. She persisted for two months lazily. Last week, she wore a strapless sling when we met. Her shoulder line was extremely flat. She said that her neck is now less stiff and painful. Calculated, it is much more cost-effective than a massage worth hundreds of yuan a time. I also had an unexpected gain. Sometimes I work overtime and get home so bored that I don’t want to do anything. I just stand and stretch my shoulders for 5 minutes. My whole body relaxes and my irritable mood calms down a lot. I don’t know if it’s because of the increased blood circulation. Anyway, it’s better than sitting around watching short videos and getting more and more irritated.

By the way, don’t believe the nonsense on the Internet that “the more painful the stretch, the better the effect.” I once had a friend stretch the back of his thigh. The pain was so painful that tears came out of his eyes, but he still tried hard to stretch. As a result, the muscle fiber was stretched, and the pain lasted for almost a week and he could not even walk. The pain of normal stretching should be a "refreshing" feeling with a bit of soreness and swelling. If there is a sharp and painful sensation, you must stop immediately and don't make it difficult for your body.

To be honest, home fitness is meant to be convenient and save money. Stretching does not require you to buy any expensive equipment. You can lay out a yoga mat or even stand next to the sofa to do it. In total, it does not take you as long as it takes to watch two short videos. Don’t bother yourself and skip this step - if you twist your waist or sprain your ankle, you will waste much more time than those ten minutes of stretching.