Opinions about the benefits of stretching vary widely, but if you follow some rules, you can do your body a lot of good with some stretching exercises. By stretching regularly, you can correct muscular imbalances and prevent incorrect strain. If you already have specific complaints, please consult a physiotherapist who will work with you to create a stretching program that is appropriate and effective for you personally.
12 simple stretching exercises to imitate
1. stretch “knee flexor” 2. stretch “buttocks” 3. stretch “hip flexor” 4. stretch “knee extensor” 5. stretch “abdominal muscles” 6. stretch “back extensor” 7. Stretch “Lateral abdominal muscles” 8. stretch “Chest muscles” 9. stretch “Adductors” 10. stretch “Neck muscles” 11. stretch “Tennis elbow” 12. stretch “Golf elbow
Intention of stretching exercises
If muscles are not regularly lengthened, this also means that the joints are no longer used to their full extent. The saying “If you rest, you rust” applies here, because joints are also dependent on sufficient movement for their function. If they receive too little of it, premature signs of wear and tear such as arthrosis threaten.
If a muscle is lengthened by stretching exercises, the muscle should not actually be made longer, but its tolerance of tension should be increased and the blood circulation improved. Muscle fibers are innervated by nerve fibers and contain small “tension meters”, the muscle spindles. These muscle spindles constantly send signals to the brain about the current tension of each muscle fiber.
Our body always tries to use only as much energy as necessary and therefore reduces muscle mass when it is not needed. It is the same with the length tolerance of the muscle. If the muscle is not brought to length over a longer period of time by regular stretching exercises, its tolerance of tension is reduced to a tension tolerance sufficient for everyday life.
In short, a “shortened” muscle is poorly supplied with blood, restricts the range of motion of the joints and is more prone to injury. As with stretching, eccentric training also lengthens the muscle and ensures physiological mobility of the joints. This method of working is characterized by increased tension on the muscle with simultaneous increase in length.
Both in everyday life and in sports, we need this way of working the muscles. For example when jogging, squash etc… Whenever we need to slow down a movement, the Quadtriceps works eccentrically and initiates the reverse movement. You can find exercises in the article Eccentric Training.
