Nothing feels better than a great workout where you gave it your all. You are exhausted and it’s time to refuel your body and eat or have a protein shake. Uh oh but wait! Something does feel even better and takes up very little time. That little slice of heaven comes from the brief stretching of the worked muscles that you should do right after your exercise (also stretch BEFORE your workout as well to reduce the risk of injury). Stretching feels so good and is also useful in bringing your heart rate back to normal after an intense workout.

Yes stretching is important before a workout, but why is it important after working out? Well you know those days following a workout where you can barely move your arms, legs, or whatever part you worked out? If you stretch effectively after working out you can reduce if not completely avoid that soreness and not have to spend your whole day walking around funnily or dreading the upcoming flight of stairs. Stretching achieves this effect because it increases the blood and nutrient supply to muscles and cartilage after your exercise.

Now DON’T jump straight into stretching before a workout either because you can also injure your muscles if you stretch them while they are “cold”. 3 to 5 minutes of cardiovascular exercise or training is recommended prior to stretching in order to warm up the muscles sufficiently. You want to stretch to the point of slight tightness or tension and not to the point of pain. Do not go to the point of pain because you can pull a muscle and you don’t want that.

There are times when you do not want to stretch and here are a few of them. DO NOT stretch:

• When joints or muscles are inflamed, hurt, or infected
• Following ligament sprains or muscle strains
• After a recent fracture
• When you feel sharp pains in the joints or muscles

So do what’s best for your health and fit in a good stretch before and after your exercise if you are able to!