Everyone who exercises is “into†stretching. And that’s great. However, there are a few things to remember about stretching.
First things first: You don’t start your workout with a stretch. I know, you see it all the time. But it’s just plain wrong. Look at it like this: If you have a rubber band in the freezer and you pull it out and immediately stretch it, it breaks. Your body, without a warm up, is that rubber band.
Improper stretching can bring risks to your physical health rather than benefits. These are just some of the dangers:
Muscle Strain: Overstretching or stretching too quickly can lead to muscle strains or tears, which are painful and take time to heal. Who wants to be out of the water because they overstretched?
Joint Damage: Stretching too forcefully or with incorrect technique can strain joints, leading to discomfort or even injuries such as sprains.
Nerve Damage: Aggressive stretching puts pressure on nerves, leading to tingling, numbness, or even more serious nerve damage.
Muscle Imbalance Development: Focusing on stretching certain muscles while neglecting others can lead to muscle imbalances, which may increase the risk of injuries.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): Stretching improperly, especially when the muscles are not adequately warmed up, can contribute to DOMS, which is characterized by muscle stiffness and soreness after exercise.
To prevent these stretching-first pitfalls, it’s crucial to approach stretching with care, ensuring proper technique, adequate warm-up, and listening to your body’s signals to avoid overexertion. If you’re unsure about proper stretching techniques, consult with a certified fitness professional who can provide guidance tailored to your individual needs and goals.
You begin your workout with a warm-up, not a stretch.
Warming up gets that rubber band loose and flexible.
A good warmup offers performance- and injury-avoidance benefits. It increases your blood flow and enhances your muscle elasticity by gently and gradually increasing the muscle temperature, making muscles more pliable and less prone to injury during subsequent activity.
It’s also a mental thing. It gives you time to plan your workout and focus on your goals. It also primes the nervous system for your workout, improving coordination, reaction time, and muscle recruitment patterns, which can optimize performance during exercise. My warm-up is also the time when I decompress from the day’s work and solve all my problems (I can dream!).
- Some other notable benefits of a proper warm-up:
- Reduced Muscle Soreness: A warm-up can help to alleviate post-exercise muscle soreness by preparing the muscles for the demands of exercise and promoting efficient removal of waste products that accumulate during physical activity.
- Regulation of Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Gradually elevating heart rate and blood pressure during a warm-up prepares the cardiovascular system for the demands of exercise, reducing the risk of sudden spikes in heart rate or blood pressure during intense activity.
- Enhanced Recovery: A well-designed warm-up can facilitate faster recovery by reducing muscle stiffness and promoting the clearance of metabolic byproducts. This allows a smoother transition between workouts and reduces the risk of overuse injuries.
What’s a good warm-up? It depends on the type of workout you’re doing. If you’re in the water, there are several good ways to warm-up.
Start out with a slow jog. Just running back and forth across the pool – staying in the same water depth – can be a great warm-up. (See my post Get your Shoes Wet)
My personal workout includes doing about 2.5 miles of running in the water, which takes me about an hour. Your warm-up should last at least 10 minutes.
Another great warm-up is to use your buoys and jog while performing the following exercises:
Using the buoys (water dumbbells), lift them out of the water, palms facing inward, and raise and lower them as you jog in chest-high water. Alternate raising and lowering the buoys while you jog. Then, for a few reps, bring them over your head in a jumping jack arm motion, palms facing straight ahead, also while jogging. Repeat each exercise for a few minutes.
The goal here is to warm up, not compete in a race. So you’re moving your arms and you’re moving your legs at a steady pace.
Follow this warm-up exercise with moving the buoys forward and back on the surface of the water, palms facing down as if you’re rowing, while jogging. And last, with your palms facing each other and the buoys vertical, bring your buoys up out of the water and in and out in front of you, then up and down. And yes, you’re still jogging.
Once you’ve finished warming up, you’re ready to make some waves and do your regular workout. Your workout should consist of aerobic (any exercise that gets the heartbeat up), resistance exercises, and endurance exercises. To develop your personal workout, see my previous posts and get more information online or at YouTube.
NOW you’re ready to stretch. That’s right, at the end of your workout. Slow down, let your heartbeat come down, and move gently in the water. Stretch from side to side, then stretch forward, leading with your chest and following with your arms, one leg bent slightly in front of the other, doing a slow stretch in the water. Next, suck in your stomach and extend your arms in front of you in the water, and hold that position for a count of 30. Then place your hands on your hips and stretch backwards for a count of 30.
Find more water aerobics stretches online or check out Amazon for some great books on the subject.
Whatever workout you do, remember to warm up first, then do your regular workout, and then end your workout with stretching.
I’ll see ya’ in the water!
