Stretching, as such, is hardly calorie-intensive. But they are the key that improves your physical form to dare with increasingly complete calorie-burning workouts, because how many times have you thought that you would take advantage of dance or yoga classes if you doubled more?
Compared to static stretching, which consists of stretching everything that a muscle gives of itself and holding in that position for about 20 seconds, most coaches and sports scholars opt for dynamic stretching to gain elasticity.
- What is a dynamic stretch exactly? "It is to lengthen and shorten the muscle as much as possible during an active movement, but without forcing at any time", explains physiologist Juan del Coso, from the Camilo José Cela University.
- Differentiate the static and the dynamic. For example, to stretch your leg statically, you lean against the wall, bring your foot to your glute and hold. Then you spread it out, try to touch the tip, and hold on. In the dynamic version, you move your leg back and forth and side to side, trying to go far without forcing.
What do you gain from doing these stretches?
De-numbing your muscles while stretching will take away pain from lack of movement, but it has another great added benefit, which is that it makes you gain range of motion . If you only train strength or do cardiovascular activity (running, dancing …), some muscles get stiff and shortened. “We must incorporate dynamic stretching into our weekly routine”, explain Marta González-Aller and Jorge Romeral, better known as @ 2_be_fit.
- How should we do it? “Stretching a little at the end of class is fine, but try yoga or stretching sessions to gain joint range of motion (that is, to have more elasticity and stretch or bend more). This way you will open the body and the tissues gain flexibility ”, say these experts. In other words, the ideal is to combine cardiovascular and strength exercises with others that work on flexibility, such as yoga or Pilates.
Why do you burn more calories if you are more flexible?
The more flexible you are, the more exercises you can do and you will have more weapons to combat accumulated fat. Think that when you are halfway through the execution of a movement, the teacher suggests an easy version. It costs you a horror, but you burn few calories because the exercise is so simple. With a little flexibility, you access a wide range of increasingly complex workouts. And the higher the level of effort, the more calories burned.
Flexibility makes you less risk of injury
It is rare for a palm tree to split in a hurricane. Rigid trees, on the other hand, tend to break. Your muscles work the same way: the more elastic, the less chance of breaking when you stumble or exert yourself too hard . By working on elasticity, you prevent muscle breaks and avoid other types of injuries. For example, many times we squat poorly because the ligaments of the foot do not allow greater mobility. And repeating a poorly executed movement many times overloads neighboring joints or causes excessive friction in joints such as the knee. They are small mistakes that, by dint of repetition, lead to injury.
You reduce stress (and peck less)
Dynamic stretches call for a calm performance (look at yoga or tai chi). The side effect is a reduction in stress and muscle release.
- How to get it? Control your breathing and gradually unfold your body, without haste, without forcing. Visualize yourself as that palm tree swaying in the wind and let yourself go. Not only will you loosen your joints, you will also reduce stress and, with it, the urge to eat like crazy.
But they are not magic, they do not remove the shoelaces
Science is still not very clear about what causes soreness. It is believed that it is a painful combination between small micro-tears in the muscle fibers because you have exercised harder (calm, it is a normal process) and the consequent inflammation to repair the mess. What science has proven is that stretching does not eliminate them, but that the smooth and fluid movement favors blood flow and accelerates recovery . So you should stretch, because the sooner the pain disappears, the sooner you can return to training without discomfort.
Stretch from head to toe
- Hips . Spending many hours sitting limits the mobility of this joint and can become painful. In yoga there are various movements to "open the hips", especially rotations that force the spine to bend forward.
- Arms . Biceps, shoulders and chest tend to shorten when you work on the computer. Interlock your hands behind your waist and try to stretch your arms and raise them at the same time. To stretch your triceps, raise your arm, bend at the elbow, and try to touch between the scapulae with the palm of your hand.
- Cervical . On all fours, alternately hunch and relax your upper back, like a cat. That is why this exercise is known as the "cow-cat."
- Neck and shoulders. Start with shoulder rotations and continue to make imaginary circles with your head. Thus, you decongest the upper part of the back.
When stretching, you have to know how far to go, how much time to spend on them, and how to get them to help you in your workouts:
- Without pain. The first rule of all exercise is: if it hurts, don't do it. If when you reach a point stretching you notice pain, it is a sign that your body is not ready to go to more.
- Helps . Room temperature can be an ally when it comes to stretching. There are disciplines of yoga, such as bikram, which are done in rooms at 40º precisely to facilitate stretching.
- Brief . You don't have to spend an entire session on them (although it can be nice once a week). Before your daily workout, you can dedicate 6-12 minutes to them . Just enough until you feel the muscles are ready to go.
- Non-stop. To help you go a little further in your favorite sport, do them just before you start your training. Do not let more than 5 minutes pass or its effects will diminish.
