Exercise tip – stretching: how often and how long for?
Stretching for a recovery and for improving your flexibility should be an essential part of your regular exercise routine. Most people ask the questions how long do I hold my stretches for and how often do i stretch.
Stretching for recovery after exercise is thought to help the blood flow back into working muscles to aid recovery and to dissipate lactic acid build up. Three tips to help are, firstly hold for twenty to thirty seconds on each stretch (any longer and you may over stretch causing muscle or joint damage). Secondly stretch the whole body, not just the muscles you think have worked, and thirdly, stretch after you exercise, every time.
Stretching to improve flexibility is completed differently. Each stretch is held for sixty seconds or more, and completed only once on each muscle stretching. If a joint is tender when you stretch, reduce the intensity of pressure applied by the stretch action.
Lastly and probably the most important point is to stretch to slight discomfort not pain.
Health tip – balancing your lifestyle
Everyone is looking for a balance between work, exercise, eating well and socialising, but is it achievable? Some very good indicators that you are not having a good balance are:
- Excess fatigue even after a full night sleep
- No energy during the day, almost feeling like you are jet lagged all the time.
- becoming ill more and more frequently or not being able to recover for long periods after relatively minor illnesses.
- The feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with all the things you have to do.
If you are running a fine line, look for some of these warning signs, and the many others there can be, and try to make the adjustments before the damage is done.
Exercise of the week
this week we are looking at the dumbell row, an exercise that is targeting muscles that help with your posture and the biceps. The key training tips are:
- Maintain the torso in a stable position. The only movement should be with the shoulder and the arm.
- when lowering the weight, don’t let it jerk or snap the arm straight at the lowest point. Maintain control all the way through the movement.
- breathe out when you pull the weight upwards, keeping the elbow close to the side, rather than out wide.
Add this exercise to either a gym routine or a home exercise routine to build a great posture.
Life tips
Being in the moment, focusing on what you are doing at the tie is important for progress. It does not mean you lose sight of where you want to go, it just means you are completing that step in the best way you can.
Wise words
‘Real life is not photoshopped.’
I spotted this while reading sayings on shirts, while running the City to Surf this year.
Have a great week and enjoy life. David