Common mistakes and main rules of stretching
There are many examples where a person does not stretch at all after warming up. And after training too. And some, on the contrary, begin to do it immediately when they come to the gym, forgetting about warming up the muscles. This is usually typical for beginners.
Stretching on cold muscles very often leads to injury, remember this!
Remember also the basic postulates that will help you train correctly:
- Warm up well before stretching. Very good. The muscles need to be “hot”.
- Do everything smoothly, no need to stretch until it hurts, as in the post-workout version.
- The main task is to prepare the muscles for the load. First, warm it up, then strengthen the plasticity for the duration of the workout by stretching.
Final stage: cool down
Here it is necessary to say a few words about cardio exercises and the cardiovascular system. Since work on cardio equipment can take place both at the beginning of a workout and at the end, it can be performed accordingly both as a warm-up and as a cool-down.
Cardio training is a type of stress on the body in which the emphasis is on the respiratory system, heart and blood vessels.
Training the heart and blood vessels prepares the body for future, higher loads that you will have to experience during training. This type of workout will help warm up your muscles and joints before lifting weights, and can also be used as a finishing step at the end. There is no need for haste here; increase the load gradually, methodically increasing the pace, or, if this is a hitch, also gradually reducing it. As for training in the gym, as a rule, the load on the cardiovascular system is exerted using a treadmill, exercise bike, orbitrack, and possibly with the help of an invention such as a stair simulator or the most common jump rope, if you train in the gym , where such simulators are not available.
As for cardio equipment specifically, before strength training it is necessary to gradually increase the pace and perform light work with minimal load for 5-10 minutes until the heart rate (HR) reaches approximately 110-130 beats per minute (almost all modern cardio equipment have built-in heart rate monitor). As for the cool-down, starting with jogging or even fast walking, it is necessary in the same way, within 5-10 minutes, to gradually reduce the pace to a complete stop. This will help bring your heart rate back to normal, prevent muscle pain and relieve tension.
After completing the cool-down, in order to catch your breath and come to your senses, you can sit down, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in and out to relax. While inhaling, you will need to think about the last training session, how you carried it out, what you were able to do and what you were not able to do. You can praise yourself for successfully completing the task, or scold yourself if you messed up somewhere. By exhaling, you release stress, tension and fatigue. Now you can open your eyes and go change clothes with a feeling of accomplishment.
Basic elements and technique
After your muscles have become “hot” enough, stretch your neck, lower back, legs, and back.
We stretch our necks
Stand in front of the mirror, straighten up. We move our head so that the chin reaches towards the chest. When you feel that it will hurt further, or you simply cannot move further, make 3-4 oscillatory movements back and forth.
If necessary, help with your hands - place your palms on the back of your head and help yourself reach your chest with your chin. Your chin should touch the junction of your collarbones.
Return to the starting position and tilt your head back. Try to touch the back of your head and pull your head as close to it as possible. At the limiting point, do the same as in the previous case - 3-5 oscillatory movements.
From the starting position, tilt your head to the right and left. The head first reaches towards the right shoulder (the shoulder is motionless), it is recommended to help with your hand. The right palm presses on the left side of the head and pulls the head with the right ear to the right shoulder. At the final point, perform 3-5 swings. Repeat the movement in the other direction.
Back
From a standing position, bring your bent arms in front of you, elbows pointing down, hands up. Arms are bent 90 degrees. Palms are turned towards you and clenched into a fist.
The initial position is hands parallel to each other. We begin to bring them as close as possible with our elbows. When they are very close, make springing movements, as if stretching even more. You should feel a stretch in the muscles around your shoulder blades.
After this, spread your arms from the same position as far back as possible. Elbows always look down, fists up. Stretch this way 3-5 times at the final point.
Then spread your arms in the same bent position to the sides (right-left) so that your arms form one straight line from the elbow of one hand to the elbow of the other.
In this position, rotate your body as far as possible to the right and left. At the final points, make 3-5 springing movements in each direction.
Lower back and hamstrings, calves
Stand straight, arms along your body. Feet together. Arch your back, buttocks back. Shoulders straightened. Look ahead. We begin to lean forward on straight legs, maintaining the original position of the body and all deflections.
We reach down and try to touch the floor or our shoes with our hands. Whoever can. At the point where you feel pain, make 3-5 elastic movements with a small amplitude (up and down a couple of centimeters). Stand up straight.
There is another version of the same exercise. In this case, your legs are located slightly wider than your shoulders, and you bend alternately to one leg and then to the other. The first option is preferable.
If performed correctly, you will feel the muscles of your legs stretch: calves, back of the thigh, buttocks and back.
Legs
Two options for stretching your legs before training:
- raising the knee to the chest;
- moving the legs back and up with the help of the hands.
You need to raise your knee from a standing position. If you do this from a sitting position, the effect is lost. Stand up straight and stable. First, lift your right knee, clasp it with your hands and pull it towards you. Repeat the exercise for the second leg.
If your gym has a wall bars, place your foot at a comfortable height and lean your torso toward your knee. A comfortable height should be such that your knee is just below your chin.
The next exercise is best performed near a support (and again a Swedish wall will do). We stand facing the support, grasping it with one hand. We take one leg back a little and bend it at the knee, so that the heel points up. We take the heel with our free hand and pull it up and towards us to the maximum position. At the top point, pull even higher 3-5 times. Repeat for the second leg.
The need for exercise before training
Stretching the muscles before training, especially after a night's sleep, is extremely necessary, as it allows you to:
- stretch muscles that are tight and the joints themselves are inactive;
- prepare the body for more serious physical exercise (without it, you can quickly sprain ligaments or get other injuries);
- ensuring a normal level of metabolism, which is very important during the training phase.
To ensure that warm-up and stretching before training are done correctly, allocate 15-20 minutes to this process. The first 10 minutes should be aimed at warming up the muscles.
It is recommended to start any muscle training with a warm-up.
To do this, you should perform the following exercises:
- A short jog.
- Squats that do not use weights.
- Warm-up with a skipping rope.
- Bench press.
After doing the warm-up exercises, you can proceed directly to muscle stretching. Please note that the warm-up should not replace the main training time.
Why stretch large muscles?
The fact is that large muscles provide us with correct posture. Each exercise requires a specific technique, which cannot be performed correctly without stretching. This is why we stretch before training. Incorrect technique means a high risk of injury. Experienced athletes understand this very well. And we want you to have as few injuries as possible. So follow our advice!
Thus, stretching performed before training has 2 goals: injury prevention and proper technique.
Why do you need a warm-up before the splits?
You need to understand that warming up before doing the splits is a must! Without it, you risk serious injury, and it also helps improve strength. The importance of warming up before doing the splits can be compared to the importance of washing your hands before eating. In the absence of this, unpleasant consequences are possible. The warm-up for the split stretch must be done, and done correctly. In addition to your safety, it will help you do the splits faster, although it is worth noting that rushing here may be inappropriate.
Warming up before stretching has the following benefits :
- improves muscle plasticity;
- improves blood circulation and saturates muscles with oxygen, and the latter in turn minimizes the amount of lactic acid;
- increases flexibility of joints and tendons;
- significantly reduces the risk of injury;
- increases the performance of muscle fibers.
Please note that warming up before the splits is necessary even for those who can already do the splits without any problems. And those who are just taking steps towards this goal should pay maximum attention to it. In order for the muscles to warm up and joint stiffness to go away, just ten minutes of preparation is enough. In addition, you need to take care of the cool-down: finish the exercise with relaxing movements and a light muscle massage.
Types of stretch marks
Stretching before strength training is an important element for every athlete, and it can be:
Dynamic
Dynamic stretching involves performing exercises in a constant manner without reducing speed. Due to the fact that the same rather short elements will be repeated many times, the amplitude will increase.
Static
The peculiarity of static stretching is that the adopted pose must be held for about 30 seconds, followed by increasing the stretch of the trained muscles to the maximum value. After 30–60 seconds after performing static stretching, complete muscle relaxation occurs.
Remember that the purpose of stretching before training is not to increase your flexibility and plasticity, but to prevent muscle injuries and prepare the whole body for work
Note! When performing both dynamic and static exercises, a person should not feel pain, and all movements should only be done smoothly and slowly, gradually increasing the amplitude.
