If you participate in physical activities, you’ve probably heard the importance of stretching. Stretching plays a critical role because it loosens the muscles, gets that heart rate up and helps prevent possible injury. Stretching after physical activity is also key. It helps remove lactic acid from muscles which helps our bodies recover quicker and alleviates the feeling of soreness. Two popular examples of stretching are Dynamic and Static stretching.
Dynamic Stretching: This involves actively moving our joints and muscles. This stretch is performed to get your body ready for physical activities. You target muscle groups you plan to use during your activity. This helps our body rehearse the movement and be ready to respond more quickly. Dynamic stretching elevates the heart, boosts metabolism, increases flexibility and gets blood pumping.
Examples of dynamic stretching: lunges, jumping jacks, high kicks, knee to chest, jump squats etc.
Static Stretching: This type of stretching is when you stretch the joint to the furthest place it can go and hold the position for a length of time. This stretch can also be done in repetition for around 10 seconds.
Examples of static stretching: Touching toes, calf stretch, hamstring stretch, upper back stretch, cobra pose