5 Muscle Stretching Tips to Avoid Injury and Improve Flexibility
If you’re going to be using a treadmill to burn fat and lose weight, then you’ll want to make sure that you stretch your muscles before you begin. Stretching is important because it prevents injuries that could impede your performance.
I also recommend that people stretch before and after any exercise, so be sure to do your stretching before you start using your treadmill! This will help to increase your flexibility, putting less stress on your muscles. Stretching after your workout is important too to help prevent pulled muscles and other injuries.
Here are my top tips to help you avoid damaging your muscles while exercising:
1. Never stretch until it hurts! The majority of people think that there’s ‘no gain without pain’. This is never the case - you should only ever stretch to a position that is comfortable for you, and then hold this position for about 20 seconds.
2. Always remember to breathe while you are stretching. By practicing some deep breathing exercises while you stretch you will actually be able to give your muscles a much better workout.
3. Stretching is often seen as the warm up phase of exercise, but it’s really important to warm your muscles before you stretch them, so it’s a great idea to walk around or jog on the spot for a few minutes before you start to stretch.
4. A warm bath or shower and a stretch are excellent ways to end an exercise session. The warm water of the bath or shower will help to relax your muscles and the stretching will help avoid injury and will feel great!
5. Never bounce while you are stretching. You may have seen athletes on TV do this, but it is very dangerous because instead of stopping injuries you could actually cause yourself serious harm.
It’s always important to stretch all of your muscles and not just those in your legs - after all, walking on a treadmill actually exercises your whole body! Be sure to fully stretch the muscles in your legs, such as your calf muscles, quadriceps, and hamstrings. However, you should also make sure your other muscles are fully stretched too, pay special attention to your neck, abs, back and shoulders.
Try to be a bit more creative than just bending over and trying to touch your toes. Add in some other stretching exercises such as the splits and lunges. You can even work in some calf stretches by standing on a step and then dropping your heels - be sure to stop before it becomes uncomfortable though.
Whenever you stretch, make your movements slow and precise for the best results. You want to keep some tension on the muscles to help them stretch, but never stretch to the point where you’re in pain.
