Anyone who exercises regularly knows stretching is an important pre and post preparatory step of flexing one’s muscles and joints to sustain a range of actions. As a before and after limbering up habit in starting and ending your day, stretching helps pump blood in critical areas. At the same time, it prevents the muscle from tightening, especially if not in regular use for strenuous activities. However, not a few holds the misconception that stretching is a one-program fits all types of people.

A stretching regimen to be truly safe and effective must be taken in consultation with a physical therapist or fitness expert. As certified health experts, they assess your muscle strength to ensure your stretching regiment fits your body and its needs. Proper consultations are important before starting a stretching regimen, especially for those with chronic conditions, like arthritis or some kind of muscular dystrophy.

Calling on weak muscles to perform a physical activity puts you at risk of experiencing joint pains and muscle strains. At worst, it can lead to serious muscle damage if the muscles are not flexible enough to perform a range of preparatory or after-workout actions.

Physical Therapy Expert Explains the Importance of Proper Stretching

David Nolan, a Clinical Specialist Physical Therapest at the Massachusetts General Hospital said that many have this misconception that with stretching, you have to extend or straighten out every muscle you have. Nolan says that the critical locations for mobility are in the lower extremities such as your hamstrings, the hip flexors in your pelvis, the frontal quadriceps in your thighs and the calves. It’s also beneficial to include the neck, shoulders and lower back in the stretching regimen.

Nolan explained that regular stretching helps keep lean muscles long and flexible in such a way that constant exertion will not put too much pressure on the muscle itself. He also mentioned that persons with healthy muscles do not have balance problems.

That is why even if you’re not into regularly performing rigorous exercises or workouts but living a physically active life, aim to engage in a program of stretches; if not daily, at least for 3 or 4 times a week. While it took time before you decided to do some exercises, your muscles are still too tight to immediately achieve flexibility in just one or 2 sessions of stretching. Nolan said it takes week or even months before your not-so active muscles can gain flexibility, which makes stretching regularly an important step to your exercise program.

Are Standalone Stretching Programs Effective and Worth the Cost?

Allys Bar, the website that aims to provide answers about emerging diet pills and fitness regimen took time to review the Hyperbolic Stretching program being sold in ebook format. Aside from helping individuals enhance their overall flexibility, its author Alex Larsson, says the 60-day program can also help in slimming down waistlines.

What we learned from the Hyperbolic stretching review is that the Allys Bar reviewer found the 8-minute daily stretching program easy to fit in, even in a busy schedule. As far as flexibility results are concerned, the review recommends it for those who have always wanted to do a full split in just a few months of constant practice.