Stretching: Why It is Vital to a Good Workout

Warm ups: Essential Keeps your body limber and flexible Primes your nervous system Prepares your muscles Increase delivery of blood, oxygen, and nutrients to your muscles Ready your mind for exercise and performance

Dynamic Stretching Recent research says static stretching during warm up does little to increase flexibility or prevent injuries Dynamic stretching is active: you are constantly moving Dynamic stretching helps your body maintain a higher core body temperature

Arm Circles Leg Swings Walking Lunges Butt Kicks Hip Circles Air Squats Hip Thrusts Kettle Ball Swings Heel Walks

Post Workout Stretching If a muscle group has been continually contracted during a workout, stretching will get muscles back to their normal length Can help to alleviate potential soreness and fatigue due to lactic acid buildup

Post Workout Stretching Cont. Recovery time is shorter Prevents muscle and joint strains Reduce back problems Promotes circulation

Post Workout- Static Stretches Static stretches can be a great way to cool down after a training session. Can help release a muscle that’s not a primary mover (don’t stretch primary muscles during a workout)

Chest and Anterior Deltoid Stretch Shoulder Joint Stretch Lateral Stretch Groin Stretch Quadriceps Stretch Hamstring Stretch Calf Stretch

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Assignment 1 You are going to create a pre-workout stretch routine and a post-workout stretch routine. Each activity should include a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 exercises and should include stretches for all major body groups (shoulders, back, chest, quads/hamstrings/calves). Remember, a good stretch routine should take approximately 10 minutes. You will need to illustrate each activity so that it can be followed by others, and you will need to write out procedural instructions that can be easily followed. You will need to perform one of the routines with the class following along.