Yoga and stretching
Most people do stretching first thing in the gym. However, it is not a wise to do because your muscles are “cold” at that time. Do 5 – 10 minutes light cardio to warm up you body before any stretching. Also, excessive stretching before workout is bad because your muscle and tendon will be too relaxed. Relaxed muscle will give out less strength and be easier to injured during workout.
The best time to stretch is after workout because your muscle is warm and more flexible. Post workout stretching can increase flexibility and speed up the healing and recovery process of your muscle. Your stretching routine should last less than 30 minute. A lot of people made the mistake by doing Ballistic movement during stretch. For most people, static stretching is enough. Stretching beyond point of pain and bouncing movement can cause injury. You should start from you neck and stretch each muscle group until you finish with your feet. Hold each stretch for a minimum of 20-30 seconds and breathe slowly.
More and more people use yoga to replace stretching. Beside gaining flexibility, yoga also improves your balance and awareness (as a kind of meditation).
Yoga also
Reduce stress, tension and blood pressure
Decreases stored fat
Improves circulation and digestion
Improves posture and agility
Even NBA player like Emeka Okafor use yoga to improve strength. Yoga is easy and fun. All you need is a quite place that you won’t get distributed and a yoga mat. Some male links yoga to the word “gay” for some reason. If you are one of them, Buy a yoga DVD for strength training online so you don’t have to be seen by your gym buddies walking out of a yoga studio.
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