"To Stretch or Not to Stretch"

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Hello, my name is Diya and I am an adrenalin junkie. What some might call a “fitness freak”. Challenging my body and mind in different forms of exercise and physical activity is something I have loved ever since the day I first discovered the “feel good” burst of euphoria one can only get from endorphins being released into the bloodstream. And that, my friends, is the ultimate high :) In the last decade I have hiked up Table mountain (South Africa), completed multiple half-marathons, practiced yoga, hot yoga, power yoga, vinyasa yoga, taken salsa classes, kickboxing lessons, and some seriously tough pliometrics (aka army style exercises from hell).


But my point is that throughout it all, aches and pains, sore knees, and stiff muscles, not only was my body able to recover, but it was able to continue. And I attribute it all to the simple action of stretching. To many people, stretching is a waste of time which they are impatient to get through so that they can get to the “real exercise”. A lot of these same people end up with chronic ligament pain, stiffness they cant seem to get rid of, and joints which have little or no ability to stretch, at least not without significant discomfort. In my books, effective stretching plays one of the most critical, if not the most critical, part of any workout regime.

It’s the simple, gentle movements which take only upto a maximum of ten minutes which allow the body to slowly warm up, heating up the muscles and preparing them to engage in more challenging physical activity. In fact stretching post a workout (especially after running or any intensive activity) is the best time to work on increasing the flexibility of the body. Of course, there are also some who feel like stretching prior to exercise can also cause pain since the muscles are cold at this time…I personally do not agree, but would suggest you try it yourself and see how your body feels. Then, go with what feels good for you!