Stretching will improve your jogging performance tenfold, as well as your well being and overall fitness.
Stretching is a instinctive and natural activity – from humans to cats and everything in between, its done by most living things with muscles. Naturally it is normally done after being inactivity for long periods of time, like after sleeping. Athletes use stretching as a precaution against injury both before and after – it is also known to increase performance.
Benefits:
- Enhances flexibility – Flexible muscles help maintain good posture and balance. Making fluid strides is difficult when muscles are rigid and tight.
- Relieve muscle tensions that prevent muscle and joint injuries.
- Flushes lactic acid.
- Improves muscle repair rate.
To enhance your jogging, start stretching in the following areas:
- Back
- Hips
- Legs
- Ankles & Feet
You can find some various stretches doing a simple Google search. The type of stretches doesn’t really matter, what matter is that you stretch all the areas listed above and you’ll be well on your way to improved jogging.
Precautions to Stretching:
- Never Stretch When Your Muscles Are Cold, As They Can Easily Tear. To prevent this you can simply warm up your muscles, to do so take a 5 minute walk to get the blood your flowings in the right areas. By doing this you minimise the risk of damaging or tearing any muscles while stretching.
- Do Not Over Stretch. Overstretching will tend to create an automatic myotatic reflex that will cause the muscle to recoil as a form of protecting itself from tearing and injury. Observe moderation and caution while doing stretching exercises before jogging.
