Post workout muscle stretching is a set of exercises aimed at developing the flexibility of muscles and tendons, as well as deliberately lengthening them. Stretching is usually performed precisely on those muscle groups that you trained during workout. Stretching is the correct end of your workout. And it is more correct to do it not before, but after training. Stretching before training can bring you the risk of injury (muscle tearing) due to the fact that your muscles are still cold and not filled with blood. Therefore, stretch after training when your muscles are already prepared and warmed.
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Why should you do post workout stretching
If you read the article about muscle fibers, you know that they contain cells such as myofibrils. When the muscles are relaxed, the myofibrils in the muscle fibers are far from each other. When the muscles receive a load, the myofibrils are come and hooked to each other. Therefore, after training, myofibrils are held together for a long time. Post workout muscle stretching of the muscles allows the myofibrils to divide from each other and return the muscle fiber to its original length.
Benefits of post workout muscle stretching
1) Relaxation of muscles after training. It is achieved by dividing myofibrils in muscle fibers.
2) Improving muscle growth. Achieved by stretching the fascia. The fascia is the so-called connective sheath that holds your muscles in place. It often happens that the fascia, due to its rigidity, inhibits muscle growth. Muscles simply have nowhere to grow because they are limited by the size of the fascia. Stretching the fascia is achieved by active stretching with weights (or pumping), see it below.
3) Removal of lactic acid from muscles. Lactic acid is a substance that is produced in muscles as a result of physical activity. This substance is formed as a result of the breakdown of glucose and consists of hydrogen and lactate. When you perform an exercise, it happens that you experience a burning sensation in the trained muscle. This is the process of accumulation of lactic acid in the muscle, namely hydrogen ions. Stretching, on the other hand, facilitates faster elimination of lactic acid from the muscles. This leads to the prevention of muscle pain the next day after training.
4) Improving flexibility of muscles, ligaments and joints. Due to this, the amplitude of movement in exercises increases, which makes it possible to more effectively influence the trained muscle group.
5) Acceleration of the metabolism of nutrients in the muscles. Thanks to this, the recovery and regeneration of muscle fibers is faster.
6) Improving blood circulation in the muscles. As the muscles receive more blood, they work better, and this facilitates muscle growth.
Varieties of post workout stretching
1) Active stretching with weights or pumping. The athlete performs the usual training exercises, only with light weight in the multi-rep mode and maximum amplitude. When performing this stretch, you should feel powerful pulling pains and pressure in the muscle being trained.
2) Static stretching. The athlete takes the starting position, then begins to stretch the muscle to the point of discomfort. After that, the athelte stays in this condition for 10-30 seconds. After a certain amount of training, the body gets used to such a load, and allows you to stretch longer and deeper.
Perfect technique of post workout stretching (video)
Watch the full post workout stretching routine below:
