Thursday, September 3, 2009

The most important part of your workout

The most important part of your workout

STRETCHING! Don’t skip this step! Take 10 minutes per day to stretch – even if you are not working out – and your body will thank you. Stretching will help keep you flexible and reduce body aches.

Warm up stretches help to wake up your muscles and get you ready for your workout. I highly recommend doing only dynamic stretching during your warm up. Static stretching could cause injury if your muscles are not loosened up. Spend five or 10 minutes doing the following: light jogging, jumping jacks, butt kicks, jump rope or even skipping!

Cooling down is important because you want to bring down your heart rate. Also, you want to stretch and lengthen the muscles you just worked, so they look fabulous! When you are cooling down, you can incorporate static stretching. Be sure to stretch the muscles you worked: hamstrings, calves, quads, hip flexors, chest, arms, etc. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds and remember to relax the areas of your body you are not stretching.

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