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STRETCHING "THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL"
Written
by Grandmaster
Caprio
Do you every wonder why
such an emphasis is made on the amount of time spent stretching? Its simple, the
most common way to prevent injuries is to stretch.
Stretching keeps your body
ready for movement. One can stretch whenever they like, before or after
exercising, in the morning or at night. For example, when stretching, one
could start at the feet and work their way upward. This would ensure to give
each part of the body proper conditioning.
"STATIC"
stretching is a way to make sure that any tension one places on muscles or
ligaments during stretching is done with slow increasing pressure. NEVER BOUNCE!
("DYNAMIC" stretching) because bouncing will tighten the very muscles
one is trying to stretch.
There
are two main muscles groups
The "Major" muscles
The "Minor" muscles
The
major muscles are responsible for the "major" movement of the joint;
and the "minor" muscles are responsible for keeping joints in
alignment. Therefore, in addition to stretching every joint in its
"major" direction of travel, one should remember to loosen up the
"minor" muscles as well. Unfortunately, one of the most common
mistakes in stretching is that one sometimes fails to stretch the
"minor" muscles.
Therefore, when we move the joints in any way other than the direction
they are designed to go, we run the risk of pulling or tearing the
"minor" muscles. When stretching, always consider the natural
movements of the entire body as well as all of the individual parts.
Hard
work at developing good stretching habits, should dramatically decrease injuries
and allow one to continue to enjoy injury free training. One of the goals of
stretching should not only be to prevent injury, but also to enable one to move
smoother and easier throughout their entire active lifestyles.
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