Stretching before you exercise is good, but doing the right kind of stretching is even better. Before exercise, I recommend dynamic stretching over traditional stretching because dynamic stretching warms up the body. Warming up the body is ideal for preparing the body for exercise and contributes to optimal performance. On the other hand, traditional stretching cools the body down and weakens/relaxes the muscles. This is suboptimal before exercise and can impede getting the most out of your workout. Traditional stretching is more appropriate and necessary following exercise.
To warm up your body easily, try doing knee raises.
BENEFITS
- Prepares muscles for exercise
- Reduces risk of injury
- Improves full range of joint motion
- Burns calories pre-exercise
- Improves flexibility
HOW TO DO
- While walking across a room, raise right knee to left elbow.
- Then, raise left knee to right elbow.
- Do this 10 times in one direction and 10 in the opposite direction.
For optimal fitness results, balance exercise with healthy nutrition and high quality sleep.
Dynamic Stretching : Knee Raises - Page 2
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