Experts recommend warming up before exercising with light cardiovascular activity and gentle stretching. Warm-up stretches target major muscle groups and can vary based on the type of activity. Stretches should be held for 15-30 seconds and done gently to prevent injury.
Before exercising, most experts recommend warming up to help blood flow to the muscles and prepare the body for more intense exercise. As part of this, various warm-up stretches are often recommended to help loosen muscles that may be tight from inactivity. Warm-up stretches generally cover the major muscle groups of the body, but can sometimes also target certain muscles based on the type of activity a person is about to do. While stretches can vary, there are several basic techniques that are generally recommended to help prevent injury.
Warmups generally include light cardiovascular activity and gentle stretching. Most experts recommend doing five to 10 minutes of light activity, such as walking, to help get blood flowing to the muscles in the body before trying to stretch them. This can help prevent injuries that can be caused by overstretching cold muscles.
After completing a few minutes of light activity, warm-up stretches designed to work the major muscle groups are generally recommended. This usually includes stretches to target the arms, shoulders, chest, back, and legs. For example, a basic warm-up stretching routine before walking might include clasping your fingers and stretching them forward to help straighten your arms, reaching your arms across your body to stretch your shoulders, bending from side to side and front to back. to stretch chest and back muscles, pulling your ankles up and back to stretch your quadriceps, and flexing your feet up to stretch your calves and ankles.
Routines for more intense exercises can target certain muscle groups more thoroughly. For example, running stretches can focus more on the lower body. They can include stretches that target the hips, groin, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, ankles, and feet. Conversely, for an upper body intensive sport such as baseball, more shoulder, arm, and pectoral stretching may be recommended.
In general, experts recommend some of the same basic techniques for warm-up stretches regardless of the actual stretch. This includes how long the stretch is held and the form used. For length, it is generally recommended that stretches be held for about 15-30 seconds. In terms of form, it is generally recommended that the muscle be stretched gently so that the tension is felt, but not painful, and that the stretch is held constantly without rebounding. These techniques are primarily recommended to help prevent injuries from improper stretching, such as muscle tears.
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