Flexibility In Your Fitness Program

You warmed your body up, preparing it for the work ahead.  You took on the grueling meat of the workout, rising to the challenge.  At the end, you rewarded yourself with a well-deserved cool down.  Think you’re done?  Not so fast.  Make some time for a quick stretch.  With exercise, aerobic or strength training, your muscles contract and flex, making regular stretching a valuable part of any exercise program. Just a few of the benefits of stretching include:

•          Increased flexibility.
•          Improved range of motion of your joints.
•          Improved circulation and increased blood flow to your muscles.
•          Stress relief.
•          Possible prevention of athletic injuries.

Flexibility exercises should include stretching for all of the major muscle groups.  Proper stretching involves holding a mild stretch for 15 to 30 seconds while you breathe normally.  To avoid injury, muscles should be warm before you stretch.  You should also never bounce through a stretch.    

Experts are at odds whether stretching should be done at the beginning of the workout, right after the warm-up.  Some feel stretching can also be incorporated throughout your workout, once you are done exercising a particular muscle group.  Do you remember to include stretching into your exercise program?  How do you incorporate flexibility training into your program?