Why is it important to incorporate stretching into your at home fitness program?
We put so much emphasis on exercise, building muscle and strength, that we forget that stretching is the other side of the coin and equally as important. Stretching helps to lengthen our muscles, keeping us limber and mobile. If we only focus on building strength, the muscles shorten and become tight. Tight muscles can then limit our range of movement, putting unnecessary pressure on our joints, ligaments and tendons. When tight muscles are called on to move in vigorous exercise, such as online HIIT workouts and online Barre classes, they are at an increased risk of injury. Optimally we want our muscles to be strong AND long.
Adding stretching into your online workout regime can result in better flexibility, reduced muscle soreness, improved mobility and range of movement, lessen the chance of injury and better postural alignment. So we need to balance the exercise we love with the stretching our body loves. This is one of the main reasons why we adding stretch classes to our Pilates classes at home membership.
We don’t need to stretch every single muscle every single time. Our sedentary lifestyles see us spending much more time sitting than ever before – sitting at work, sitting in the car, sitting to eat, sitting to watch TV/movies, sitting playing on our devices. All this sitting tends to make hip flexors and quadriceps extremely tight. The same also for our posterior chain – all the way down the back of the body – so calves, hamstrings, lower back and neck. Thus most of our online stretch classes will focus predominantly on these areas.
Foam Roller
The Foam Roller is becoming increasingly popular as it is a relatively cheap and easy form of self-massage. Research has shown that foam rolling before stretching is extremely beneficial as the rolling warms up the fascia (connective tissue) and increases the blood flow which in turn increases the flexibility. This increases the effectiveness of the stretches. Also the increased blood flow assists with cell rejuvenation and muscle repair, decreasing recovery times.
Spiky Ball
Like the foam roller, the spiky ball is also a myofascial release device and also works to reduce muscle tension, improve blood flow, and aid in injury prevention. The spiky ball works quite well to target those deep trigger points and tight spots – if you have a knot, put the ball on the spot and use your body weight to apply pressure to release the tension.
For both the foam roller and the spiky ball, work slowly into the muscles, giving the muscles and the connective tissues the chance to really feel the benefit of the release. Remember to breathe slow deep breaths – holding your breath causes the muscles to tense up, which completely defeats the purpose. Focus in on any tight spots to allow the chance to release, however if it becomes too painful, ease off then ease back in again. Do not focus on any recent injuries – seek professional advice for injury treatment.
Premium Pilates and Fitness online has a variety of stretch classes online that can be performed after a tough online Pilates class or as a class in their own right. We also have online Yoga classes that will stretch you out. We highly recommend a stretch class for any postnatal mums as well: you'll need some stretching after doing a postnatal pilates online class!
Subscribe to our YouTube account here for daily free mini online workouts, including stretch! You'll get a mini dose of our at home Pilates program!
If you are feeling tense, stressed, sore or stiff, an online stretch class is your go-to option: click here for a preview!
If Yoga is more your jam, click here to read our recent yoga post about how Yoga isn't just for flexible people.
