The Importance of Stretching

Reading time: 1.5 minutes

When we walk, run or perform any physical exercise, our muscles contract to produce a desired movement. This means that the muscles we are using ‘shorten’ and ‘tighten’ over time. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you repeatedly exercise i.e shorten your muscles, without lengthening them again, it is possible you could pick up an injury. When we are walking or running, we are repeating the same movement numerous times. For example, on a 5km walk on average we will take 6,500 steps. This means our body is performing each footstep 3,250 times! In order to ensure these muscles do not become chronically tight it is important to stretch after all forms of physical exercise to restore the muscles back to their ideal length.

Doing this immediately after a run is ideal, as this is when the muscles are warm, and at their most pliable so it’s a really effective time to stretch and ensure your body doesn’t tighten up and become stiff. In addition to the cool down we have put into each of our sessions, we have included a weekly routine incorporating static stretches with Pilates based exercises. This is a 15-20 minute all over body session to mobilise the joints in all different ranges of movement. It helps to reduce your risk of muscle strain during the programme and it feels good!

Besides this, if you have a foam roller, we have included a short 10 minute foam roller instructional video which helps to massage out the fascia which surrounds our muscles.

We understand that following a tough exercise session, stretching is the last thing you want to do. However, it is vital to incorporate this into your session. Make sure to set aside the time to lengthen those muscles after your workout and you won’t regret it!