You might have heard many times that stretching is great for our muscles. All the athletes and players do stretching before a workout or playing the game.
No wonder stretching has a plethora of benefits. It is one of the valuable additions to your workout routine. However, most people don’t know for how long they should stretch.
If you are among those, keep reading this article to understand the science behind stretching and how long you should do that.
This article also talks about when it’s the best time to stretch and how often you should stretch your body for effective results.
How long should you hold a stretch?
The ideal time duration for stretching is between 10 seconds to 3 minutes. Static stretching is required to hold for some time; thus, its time limit might range between 10 seconds to 3 minutes.
If you are doing active stretching, which uses movement to lengthen the muscles, then it might get done quickly. If, while stretching, you feel like you want to release immediately, then it’s a sign that you need some more time stretching this area. If stretching an area becomes difficult, then you must hold it for 45 seconds more.
While stretching, ensure you don’t do it for so long because it can be painful. The key thing here is to understand the limits of your flexibility by intuitively connecting to your body so that you can understand when you need rest.
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When’s the best time to stretch?
Like all other things, it has a fixed time to do. Similarly, stretching also has a fixed time that yields the best results. To get the best results, you should stretch your body when your muscles are already warm, maybe after the warmup exercises or once you are done with your workout and want to cool down. You can add stretch in your cool-down part after a workout.
Doing stretches after your warm-up and before a high-intensity activity can lead to a drop in your heart rate. You have to ensure that your heart rate is increased again before you move to your workout. The muscles open up more and become flexible towards the end of the day; thus, if you are doing the stretching in the evening, don’t expect similar flexibility.
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How often should you stretch?
Excessing anything is not good for your health. So as long as you do anything at a normal rate, it will show its results. Stretching is good for your body, and you should do it every day but not excessively. You can inculcate stretching in your daily workout routine to ensure physical fitness in your life. All-in-all, you can do 20-30 minutes of the total stretching session at least three times a week.
Also Read: Why Daily Stretching is Good for your Body
Benefits of stretching
There are multiple benefits of stretching on your physical health. Here is the list of it:
- Increases flexibility and range of motion
- Increases blood flow and circulation
- Enhances mood and well-being
- Helps balance and align your body
Key Takeaways
Stretching is a great idea; you can inculcate it in your daily routine even if you don’t work out regularly. It will take only a few minutes and give you a great start to the day.
