Stretching not only helps you to perform better during your workout and games or keeps you safe, it also helps you in other ways. It can prevent different types of injuries or even illness and all you have to do is give it a few minutes a day.

Why is flexibility important?

We all know that exercise is very much beneficial for your body and mind. It can help you to stay away from different types of medical problems including some cancers and also can help you with your mental health. However, flexibility does not get the same attention as exercise. Even doctors and physical therapists may not see it as important as it should be. However, you need to know that flexibility is a vital part of keeping your body fit and able. It is the third pillar of fitness along with cardiovascular conditioning and strength training.

If you want to reach the optimum fitness level, flexibility can help you to reach there. It also has a big role in injury prevention and it can contribute to keeping away problems like arthritis and more serious illnesses.

When you stretch a muscle you lengthen the tendons or muscle fibres. These fibres attach the muscle to the bone. If these fibres are longer, it is better for you because then you’ll be able to increase the muscle in size when you perform your strength training. It means more flexible muscles have the potential to become stronger muscles.

When you build stronger muscle fibres, it will boost your metabolism and your fitness level. Flexible muscles will help you by making your everyday activities easier on your body. It will also reduce the possibility of injury in day-to-day activities.

There are some day-to-day activities which you generally perform that can shorten some muscles. Such activities include hunching over the computer. Along with that there is nature loss of muscle elasticity that happens due to ageing. When both these variables combine they can be dangerous for you, especially when you try to perform any quick or awkward motion. At that time, such same ocean can stretch your muscles beyond a limit and that can cause a strain or a tear. When you have more flexibility, your body will be able to adapt to physical stressors.

Stretching will also improve your circulation and will increase blood flow to your muscles. When you have better circulation in your body, it can protect you against a host of illnesses. It can save you from diabetes and kidney disease. When you have more flexibility, it can help you to stay away from cardiovascular problems.

How to get and stay flexible

You don’t have to have the capacity to do a split, even though it will be wonderful if you can do that. You need to be as flexible as your lifestyle dictates. If you are a sportsman, depending on the sport you participate in you will need different levels of flexibility. To improve your flexibility, you will need to stretch your body and stretching will help you to do exactly that. While stretching, you need to focus on the major muscle groups such as upper body including arms, shoulders, neck; back, and lower body including thighs, calves and ankles. Depending on your lifestyle, you will need to focus on specific stretches for problem prone areas.

References 1. Hyperbolic Stretching
2. The importance of stretching
3. How to Stretch