Stretching- Tips, Benefits And Methods

STRETCHINGEdit Posts

How many of you can honestly say you have a good stretch as part of every workout? And by stretching I do not mean a cursory bend at the hips to see if you can touch your toes. Let me explain a little bit about stretching and maybe then you will see why it is crucial part of your workout.

I don’t normally like to do the negatives to begin, but there are a couple of things I have to say NEVER do with stretching, and if you take nothing else from this article, please read and digest the following points:

NEVER BOUNCE A STRETCH - Bouncing stretches should stay right back in the 70s with your lycra and headbands. This is a dangerous, out of date technique and is a quick and easy way to bounce straight into a muscle tear.

NEVER STRETCH A COLD MUSCLE – think of your little muscles as a plasticine like substance, when they are cold they are inflexible and easy to snap, warm ‘em up and hey presto....they stretch without the snapping bit....get it?

Benefits:

· Stretching will help relieve muscle tightness and stiffness.

· It increases localized blood flow to the muscles being stretched, thus improving circulation.

· Evidence suggests it will relieve muscle soreness after intense physical activity and help to reduce the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) i.e. the aches and pains you may feel for a couple of days after a hard workout.

· Helps prevent injury as tight muscles can easily get strained or torn

· It can help postural imbalances – for example if you have tight hamstrings these can pull the pelvis out of its normal position, creating lower back problems!

· Stretching can be very relaxing and is a good way to relieve stress

Stretching exercises can easily be integrated into a cool down following a training session, when the body is warm.

The stretching I am going to focus on is the one that is universally beneficial for gym users, known as static stretching. There are several other types of stretching which tend to be more sports specific and I will explain more about these in future articles.

Method:

Yeah, yeah so you think who the hell needs to be told how to stretch? Well, judging from some of the sights I have seen over the years in the stretch area of most gyms, around 90% of gym users could do with a quick idiot proof stretch guide. A quality stretch needs to be done correctly, technique counts for everything.

A stretch is found in the relevant muscle and held for a set length of time. Each stretch is held for a MINIMUM of 30 seconds.....not the standard “count to 5ish seconds and move on” technique which most people seem to think adequate. Stretches can be held up to two minutes for developmental stretching.

Stretching should be pain free, it may feel slightly uncomfortable sometimes if you have very tight muscles, but if you experience pain stop!

Oh and don’t forget to breathe freely throughout each stretch.....yep I really am reminding you to breathe, trust me lots of people really do forget.

I would recommend that if you follow a programme in the gym you allow 10 minutes at the end of every workout for a good, quality stretch. Few people allow themselves time to do this which is why it gets neglected. Long term the benefits of stretching definitely outweigh the risks of not doing so.

Thanks,

www.nuyuu.com

Examples Of Basic Stretching Techniques

HERE ARE A FEW BASIC STRETCHES TO GET YOU GOING......

STRETCH TEACHING POINTS

QUADRICEP STRETCH
• Stand on one leg and pull the other foot up towards your butt
• Keep your knees together and push your hips forwards to increase the stretch. This stretch should be felt down the front of the bent leg.

STANDING HAMSTRING STRETCH
• Take one heel out in front of the other, you can take it up on a step as shown, or keep it at floor level
• Bend the back knee and rest your weight on the bent knee
• Tilt the hips forwards as if sticking your butt in the air, and feel the stretch up the back of the straight leg.

LYING HAMSTRING STRETCH (An alternative to the standing stretch)

• Lying on your back with both legs bent, take one leg up straight supporting the leg by clasping behind your thigh
• Gradually pull the straight leg towards you, feeling the stretch down the back of the leg.

CALF STRETCH (This is very effective if done on a step as shown)
• Drop one leg behind the other so only the toes of this leg are resting on the step then let your lower leg straighten to feel the stretch down the lower part of this leg (leave the other foot on the step which will help you balance)
• Hands can remain on hips for support or be taken in front of the body as shown, to stretch out the upper back at the same time. (be warned, this does require a certain amount of balance!!)

ADDUCTOR (INNER THIGH) STRETCH
• Take a step out to the side of the body keeping one leg under your torso
• Bend the knee of the leg underneath your torso to stretch the muscles of the inner thigh of the opposite leg.
• Your outstretched leg should have a straight knee, and you should feel the stretch on the inner thigh

UPPER BACK STRETCH
• Clasp hands together and round out the shoulders as you push the arms out in front of the body
• A pleasant stretch should be felt across the upper part your back.

CHEST STRETCH
• Stand upright with back straight
• Take your hands behind your back to rest on your butt then slowly squeeze your elbows towards each other until you feel a stretch across your chest.

TRICEP STRETCH
• Place your hand on your upper back with the elbow bent towards the ceiling
• Use your other hand to pull the elbow towards your head.

Thanks,

www.nuyuu.com

Food For Thought!

Bingo wings, moobs, muffin tops, thunder thighs, skinny arms, skinny calves, beer guts...the list of negative associations we have with our poor bods is endless. In fact I lose count of the various parts of the body I’ve had waved at me with a tortured “but how do I get rid of this?”

As such you will find future blogs talking about ways to achieve a balanced lifestyle...healthy eating and exercise! Simples eh?! I hope I can inspire you to embrace a healthier lifestyle and help you learn to love your body, squidgy or skinny bits and all, and work with it rather than against it!

So I’m starting with some really basic stuff you’ll find me referring to in future articles.

NUTRIENTS: Together these make up a healthy balanced diet:

• Proteins - essential to growth and repair of muscle and other body tissues
• Fats - one source of energy and important in relation to fat soluble vitamins
• Carbohydrates - our main source of energy. Two types simple or complex.
• Minerals - inorganic elements occurring in the body and which are critical to its normal functions
• Vitamins - water and fat soluble vitamins play important roles in many chemical processes in the body
• Water - essential to normal body function - 60% of the human body is water!
• Fibre - essential to health of the digestive system

CARBOHYDRATES

· Complex carbs – found in bread, cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes and beans. They are also found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains.

· Simple Carbs - include glucose, fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar) and galactose (the sugar found in milk). Simple sugars are used as ingredients in sweets, cakes ice cream, chocolate...yep all the tasty things! They also occur naturally in fruits.

PROTEIN

· Protein sources include meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products. Vegetarian sources include nuts, beans and wholegrains as well as tofu and soya.

FATS

· Your body needs Essential Fatty Acids, EFAs, (the clue is in the name!!)... they are important carriers of certain vitamins into the body and help with many functions within the body.

· EFAs - found in oily fish (mackerel, salmon, trout), seeds and nuts and oils such as flaxseed oil.

There are of course the bad fats, along with simple sugars these are the curse of the modern lifestyle!! Think butter, cheese, cream, cakes, burgers, sweets.....all the things we love so much otherwise known as junk food. So easy to consume yet laden with calories and heart stopping amounts of saturated fats and sugar and sadly lacking in vitamins and minerals!

The key is balance; we all like a little junk sometimes, just make sure the bad outweighs the good!

Shin Splints

With the Marathon looming just around the corner, I thought those crazy folk out there who are pounding the pavements in preparation may appreciate some advice on a very common running injury. To those of you who are too sane or just too damn lazy to run 26 miles, you may still encounter this niggling injury, so if you have pain in your shins please read and learn......

Periostitis is the technical name for the most common type of shin splints found in the front of the lower part of your leg.

Symptoms:

So how do you know you have them?? Press slowly along your shin bone, if you have shin splints you will find an area along the shin bone that is really tender! Ouch!

Shin splints are caused when the muscles of the lower leg are over stressed, this can be through overload or excessive stretch, causing the tendons to pull excessively on the bones of the tibia and fibula resulting in pain!! The pain can normally be felt more acutely as you begin to exercise then subsides for the duration of the activity, then the pain will come back with a vengeance when you stop exercising. This is one common sign that it is shin splints, not some other injury, causing the pain.

Causes:

Overload is the most common cause and often occurs as a result of doing too much too quickly, often a problem for people new to running, or runners who have come back after a break and try to go straight back into training at the level they were at before the break. Overload can also be a result of running on hard surfaces such as roads or pavements.

Biomechanical issues can also be to blame such as over pronation or over supination of the foot (both can be helped by correct footwear) or the problem may be a result of poor running form, or unsuitable foot wear.

Prevention:

Good trainers are essential.... don’t panic, they don’t have to cost the earth! They do however need to be suitable for the training you are doing. A good sports shop will be equipped with gadgets that can tell what type of foot movement you have and even a treadmill for you to try the trainers on.....clever eh?!! Staff will then be able to advise the best trainers for you. (try your local running shop, probably the best place to find this level of service!)

Start any program slowly, gradually increase distance or time to avoid injuries. If you’ve had a break from your routine make sure you start slowly and build back up to your previous level of training. The general rule of thumb with running is to increase you distances by no more than 10% a week.

Always warm-up for at least 10 minutes, gradually increase intensity and always finish your workout with an adequate stretch incorporating all the major muscles in your legs.

Treatment:

Even if you take all the measure s in preventing shin splints they may occur and correct treatment is essential to help them heal as quickly as possible.

Think RICE

REST the legs

ICE the area of the injury

COMPRESS the injury

ELEVATE the injured area

The RICE should be applied for the first 48 to 72 hours.

You may find that the shin splints recur, if this happens go straight back to the RICE technique for 48 hours. When you recommence training start gradually again.

Nuyuu Timetable of Fitness Classes

Here is a list of our fitness classes.

Why not come down and have a look!.

East Grinstead- http://www.nuyuu.com/images/EG_timetable.pdf

Livingston- http://www.nuyuu.com/images/Livingston_timetable.pdf

Slough- http://www.nuyuu.com/images/Slough_timetable.pdf

Stevenage- Coming Soon

Newbury- coming Soon

Thanks,

www.nuyuu.com