I, for one, do not workout religiously. However, now that I’m in my uhmm – early thirties, I realized that I better do something about my being fit because climbing a couple of flights of stairs is already a burden for me!

I wouldn’t want to not be able to pick up my kids or grandkids in the future, so I’m starting on a not-so-stressful workout. But I learned that it takes more than a dozen jumping jacks to have a (slightly) serious workout session – and I do need to prepare my body for all that physical strain, with the help of stretching.

According to Women’s Health Mag, there are actually three kinds of stretching: dynamic, static and myofascial.

Dynamic

Moving your arms and legs through a range of motion without stopping to hold any single position.

Static

Stretching a muscle as far as you can without pain and then holding it there.

Myofascial

Applying pressure to different muscles by sliding parts of your body over a foam roller.

So when should these stretching exercises be done? The dynamic can be performed before you workout, the static stretching exercises after – and the myofascial exercises anytime.

One final thing: stretching actually helps reduce muscle tension, enhances muscle coordination, increases your energy level and the circulation of the blood to different parts of the body.

I guess I should go out and stretch these lazy limbs after all!

Photo Credit: Flickr