If you are one of those people who doesn’t understand the importance of stretching before working out, you may want to learn a little bit more about stretching. Stretching is important because it is the one of the primary ways to avoid injury when working out. Stretching loosens muscles are tight. By loosening your muscles, you can dramatically reduce your chances of pulling a muscle when you are working out. This especially true if you exercise first thing in the morning. While you sleep, your muscles contract so first thing in the morning, they are going to be at their tightest condition for the day.
It is extremely important to stretch the leg muscles first, especially the hamstring and calf muscles. Rolling the neck is also an important stretch. Putting arms behind the back is a good way to stretch biceps and triceps. Lunges with gentle bounces are another way to loosen leg muscles, especially if you are going to be doing weight training that works the legs. Walking on the treadmill or working on the elliptical trainer for ten minutes is a great way to stretch.
If you are doing an aerobic class or an exercise DVD, they will have adequate stretching exercises that are incorporated into the program. But if you are working out on your own, you need to make sure that you don’t forget this important step. It should take no longer than ten or fifteen minutes to do. If you take seriously the importance of stretching before working out, you will lessen the possibility of injury.