Post-Workout Stretching Guide for Recovery, Flexibility, and Performance

When you finish your workout you have warmed up your muscles and they are more flexible at this time making it the best time to stretch your muscles safely. Stretching your muscles will allow you to minimize stiffness, improve blood circulation within the body, and provide you with a faster recovery.

Most fitness professionals and organizations such as the American Council on Exercise support the concept of stretching after a workout for various fitness routines whether it be strength training, cardiovascular training, or at-home training. Adding 5-10 minutes of stretching to your cool-down period will have a positive impact on you.

Many fitness professionals and organizations that promote fitness emphasize stretching priorities during the cool-down period as a means of promoting relaxation of both the body and the mind and allowing the heart rate to decrease progressively and reduce the risk of dizziness and other forms of discomfort after exercising.

Benefits of Cool Down Stretches

Cool down stretches have many physical benefits, the most common being an increase in flexibility. These stretches also support muscle recovery and improve overall physical performance over time.

Full Body Standing Stretches

Standing stretches are an easy and effective way to stretch your whole body as part of your cool down post-exercise!These stretches are quick and simple to perform, requiring no equipment whatsoever, allowing for them to be performed easily both at home or in the gym.

Common Standing Stretches

• Hamstring Stretch
• Quadricep Stretch
• Torso Side Stretch

The National Academy of Sports Medicine has wrote guidelines suggesting that when performing any stretches you should not bounce, but instead hold each stretch steady while you complete the stretching process.

Seated Stretching To Relax Deeper Muscle Areas

Seated stretches can also be used as a great way to target the deeper muscle areas of your body and to help you to relax after completing an exercise routine.Seated stretches are very beneficial for your lower body.

The seated stretches will allow you to release this tightness slowly and not add additional strain to your joints. They also improve your posture by keeping your spine in the correct alignment and helping to relieve stiffness in the muscles of the lower back.

Many trainers who are associated with global fitness companies such as Adidas recommend seated stretches as part of the recommended recovery routine because they can be done by anyone at any level of fitness. These stretches can be modified to accommodate both beginning level and higher level fitness participants.

Breathing and Stretching

Breathing properly will help all the body to be able to use these seated stretches.

Lying Down Stretches to Aid Recovery

Complete muscle relaxation occurs best when performing lying down stretches. Because of this, lying down stretches are a great way to provide your body with a means to decompress, while allowing your muscles to feel no pressure on them and also providing you with a means to stretch in deeper muscle groups.

Because of this fact alone, it is less likely that you will injure yourself while performing a lying down stretch, as there is less stress placed on your joints or spine when performing them. Lying down stretches are a great way to cool down after participating in high-impact activities such as running or lifting weights.

Many fitness professionals, who are associated with professional associations such as the International Sports Sciences Association, will incorporate lying down stretches into any recovery program, as they have been shown to enhance flexibility and relieve muscle fatigue, assuming they are done correctly.

Lying Down Stretches to Include

Examples of effective lying down stretches that can be performed include the knee to chest stretch, as it helps to relieve the tension created in the lower back and can be enhanced through use of your knee.

When performing lying down stretches you should practice safety at all times. Always ease into each stretch slowly and avoid transitioning from stretched to stretch rapidly or with jarring movements.

Upper Body Stretching for Recovery

Individuals within the fitness industry, including those in CrossFit, believe that if your upper body recovers properly, you will remain strong and flexible throughout your life. If you can develop imbalances and discomfort over time.

Examples of Upper Body Stretching

Some examples of upper body stretches are the shoulder cross stretch, which is great at stretching the deltoids and upper back muscles of the body, the triceps stretch to relax the muscles in your arms, and the chest openers to extend your chest and also improve your posture.

Neck stretches are also very important when performing cool down stretches, especially for those individuals that experience neck stiffness following a workout. When performing your neck stretches, always do them very slowly to obtain better results and reduce the risk of injury.

Target Areas for Upper Body

• Stretching for the shoulders
• Stretching of the triceps above
• Stretching of the chest
• Stretching the neck sides

Lower Body Recovery Importance

Because your legs will bear most of the load during workouts, stretching these areas is extremely important for your recovery.

The World Health Organization and other similar organizations consider recovery from physical activity to be a key component of long-term health.