Body Stretch and Flexibility

Stretching is action that everday we do, probably. When we do, we help keep the body relax. Do you know if there is a good time to do stretch in exercise, and yet to improve the body flexibility?

In an attempt to prevent injury, most of us probably stretch before and after exercise. But Dr Jonathan Folland at the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences, Loughborough University in the UK, says if we're doing fairly steady activities (jogging, cycling, walking), stretching will improve our flexibility, but there is not much evidence that it will help us avoid muscle injury. He advises warming up the body with five minutes of light, gradual exercise instead. "It is important to increase blood flow to the muscles and heart steadily and not force a sudden change or your muscles will fatigue more quickly."

Dr Folland says stretching is more effective if you are doing exercise where you constantly land forcefully on your feet or stop and start quickly (sprinting, tennis or competitive team sports). The more flexible the muscles are, the more impact they will be able to sustain. This also applies when you are lifting weights.

"But it is probably better to stretch when your body is warmer after exercise." he advises. "Try static stretches, holding poses for more that 20 seconds, rather than dynamic ones, such as high kicks, as these themselves could cause injury."