Benefits of Stretching Before AND After Workout

Before people start exercising, they tend to forget one important component: stretching.  However, is it best to stretch before or after working out?  And what are the benefits of stretching? Studies have shown that stretching before and after working out will be beneficial.  Before putting so much pressure on your body, it is best to stretch out your muscles so you do not twist anything.  Not only does it ease the workout, but it strengthens your muscles.  Stretching after exercising is also efficient for the body.

There are two types of stretching: Dynamic Stretching and Static Stretching.  Know which stretches to do before and after a workout:

Before working out, the best type of stretching would be dynamic stretching.  Doing this kind of pre-workout routine will increase your blood flow, reduce your chance of injury, improve your overall athletic performance, and increase your range of motion.

Static stretching is best optimized in post-workout and will improve your flexibility, increase your range in motion, and give you better and correct posture.  Make sure you do not do static stretching before working out, since it will lower your performance.

It is normal to feel minor discomfort when doing static stretching after working out, but you should not be feeling any sort of pain.

Overall, stretching before and after a workout has its benefits!

(Source: Gymaholic)