Stretching: how to keep your muscles supple
Content-Team SWICA
Anyone who works out or plays sport should incorporate stretching exercises into their routine. They not only keep muscles supple, but protect against injury, help avoid painful muscle soreness and relieve tension.
Basic rules for stretching
It's important not to start stretching before you've warmed your muscles up a little. As well as warming up first, you should generally tailor your stretching exercises to the specific sport or type of workout. The warm-up could involve a classic sequence of movements or a simple massage with a massage roller. If you work on one muscle group, you should also stretch its counterpart. For example, if you stretch your quads (front thigh muscles), make sure you stretch your hamstrings (rear thigh muscles) afterwards.
And remember: stretching should not be painful.
The ideal time
Many people actively make time to go to the gym or play sport. But because there are only so many hours in a day, we sometimes have to find ways to cut corners. That's why stretching is often neglected – whether before or after training. However, it may be worth incorporating stretching exercises into your routine.
Before training:
Before exercising, your muscles should be warmed up and readied for the physical exertion. It's a good idea to perform stretching exercises for different muscle groups. Typical sequences might include lunges or shoulder rotations. These stretches come under the heading of "dynamic stretching". They are active, controlled movements.
- Dynamic stretching (stretching with short swinging movements)
- Stretch to the maximum only briefly.
- Stretch only until you feel a slight pulling effect, then release again.
After training:
Static stretches are most suitable for a cool down. They involve holding a position for a few seconds to stretch and extend the muscle. Unlike dynamic stretches, they don't actively work the muscle.
- Static stretching (stretching without moving)
- Hold the lightly stretched pose for 20 to 90 seconds.
- Release the stretch slowly – never with a sudden jerk.
Which stretches are best and whether they should be performed before or after exercising often depends on the type of sport or workout.
Exercise advice from santé24
Do you have any questions about healthy exercise? Or perhaps you want to exercise more but don't want to hire a personal trainer right away? SWICA customers can get a free exercise consultation from santé24.
Common mistakes when stretching
- Launching straight into stretching without warming up the muscles first
- Fast, uncontrolled movements
- Not stretching for long enough
- Focusing on too few muscle groups
- Holding the position for too long, which can lead to microtrauma (small tears in the muscle fibres) and cause muscle soreness
