You are committed to getting in shape, right?  You are putting in the cardio time, lifting weights, and eating clean.  But don’t forget about one of the most crucial elements:

STRETCHING

Stretching is a MUST to be included in your current fitness program.  Here are just a few of the MANY benefits:

• Releases muscle tension and soreness – so you are able to get back to exercising faster with a quicker recovery
• Reduces the risk of injury – this is a given
• Improved posture and less back pain – sitting at your desk got you down?  Stretch to help correct muscle imbalances and improve your posture

Before you train, dynamic (moving) exercises are best.  The goal of a dynamic stretch routine is to loosen up and increase range of motion, while warming up the body.  You’ll want to get your heart rate  pumping and get oxygen to your muscles to prep them for a killer workout.

*Laura’s tip*  Make sure to focus on the muscles you are working on that day.  For example: If you are training chest and triceps, make sure to include push-ups in your dynamic warm up.  If you are training legs and glutes, make sure to include some body weight squats in your warm up. (Don’t be like this guy though.. keep your knees behind your toes.)

Post-Workout: Static Stretching

Static stretching  is best performed after your workout.  You should aim to hold each stretch comfortably for about 15 seconds.  If you feel any pain while stretching, ease out of the stretch.  Again – you will want to focus on stretching the muscles that you just worked during your workout.

*Laura’s tip*  Even if only one side of your body is sore/tight, make sure to stretch out both sides.  For example: If your left quad is really sore, still stretch out both sides.

With that said, here is a static stretching routine that you can do after a total body workout. Please post your comments and any questions below.

Static Stretching Routine:

Downward Dog

Focus: calves and hamstrings while lengthening your back and opening your shoulders

With your hands flat on your mat, keep your back straight, push your hips up to the sky and pull your shoulders away from your ears.  You can slowly move one knee in at a time to focus attention on each calf muscle.

Cobra

Focus: back and abs

From downward dog, push yourself forward so that your shoulders are under your hands and your legs are on the mat. Carefully push back through your arms, raising your chin and opening up your chest.

Child’s pose

Focus: back and shoulders

From cobra, push yourself back onto your heels and lean forward, pulling your arms and fingertips away from your body. Relax your neck and shoulders.

Pigeon Forward Fold

Focus: hips and glutes

From child’s pose, return to downward dog and swing left leg leg behind you. Pull it forward, into your chest, while allowing your opposite leg to lay on the mat. Your hips should be square to the floor. Lean forward with both arms extended. Repeat with right leg.

 

 

 

Butterfly

Focus: hips, quads, and hamstrings

Sit on your mat and bring both feet together with your knees pointed out. Bring your knees towards your hips until you feel a comfortable stretch. Grasp your feet and sit tall. After a few seconds, you can move your feet out a bit and press your elbows into your knees to allow for a greater stretch.

Half Butterfly

Focus: hips, hamstrings, and calves

From butterfly, leave one leg bent and extend the other straight. Bend from the hips towards your toes of your extended leg. If you need to, slightly bend your knee in order to increase the bend from your hips. Grasp your toes or ankles to maximize the stretch. Repeat with other leg.

Forward Fold

Focus: back and posterior chain

Stand up with your feet shoulder width apart and bend over at the hips. Relax your neck and shoulders. You can grasp your toes or hold your hands behind your calves for a deeper stretch.  As you stand up, do so slowly, one vertebrae at a time, with the last to come up as your neck and head.

Hope this helps!  Make sure to include stretching your workout routines.  Please leave your comments below and don’t forget to “Like” this post please! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I breathing correctly?

This is a question I get quite often and something I really like to focus on during boot camp and personal training sessions. It can make a significant difference on your exercise performance and have a direct impact on how effective your training is!

Many novice athletes have the tendency to hold their breath during exercise. Your muscles need oxygen in order to work properly, so you might get lightheaded easily while working out. Changing this one thing alone could be a game changer on your productivity during your workouts!

Strength Training:

While lifting weights and performing an exercise, you want to exhale when you want the most power. This is usually when you are pushing or pulling a weight.

For example, when lifting a dumbbell for bicep curls, you want to exhale when lifting UP the weight, then inhale when you LOWER the weight.

Sometimes you aren’t lifting any weights, but just using your body weight. The same principle applies.

For example, during a push-up, you want to INHALE as you lower your body to the ground, then explode up (EXHALE) while you push your body back up.

Stretching:

While stretching, you want to maintain deep breathing to allow for adequate oxygen to replenish your muscles. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth, trying to exhale ALL the air out of your lungs. Use your breath to help you get deeper into each stretch.

Cardio:

It’s best to keep a steady breathing rhythm while you do cardio exercises.

A good way to keep steady rhythm is to match up your breathing with your strides.  For example, while running, you can inhale every 2-3 steps. See what works best for you.

Please leave your comments and questions below!

Committed to YOUR fitness success,
Laura