Mom's and Dad's looking for support

Let's talk about stretching. You have your routine down! You wake up, do a little cardio, then hit the road for a nice run or the gym for the weights! You lift, push, pull and feel great. Maybe, you felt really good and increased the weights just a touch to really get a good workout in or ran an extra mile.

The next day, you are right back at it, feeling a little tighter than yesterday, but you figure that is part of the workout. No pain, No gain, right! But the next time around, you feel a sharp pain or don't seem to have that same range of motion. What happened?

The truth of the matter is, though you might think this is the way it should be, chances are, this small little pain or reduction in range of motion is the result of your muscles tightening up and working against you. This could have been avoided with a little stretching. Sure, you might be thinking to yourself that stretching isn't that important, or that because you don't see the results you would like from stretching, like you would from doing squats or bench presses, that it is not as important. The fact of the matter is, you are only hindering yourself, not helping.

So Why Stretch?
There are several reasons why you should stretch. Stretching helps release the lactic acid that is built up in your muscles from strenuous lifting or movement. Stretching also improves flexibility, which promotes muscle growth and reduces that post exercise soreness. This also leads to a fuller range of motion, increasing your mobility. Not to mention that you will have better posture and feel more confident in yourself.

When Should you Stretch?
You should do some light stretching before and after your workouts, and consider stretching for longer periods of time at least once a week. Yoga is one good way to accomplish this. And no, Yoga is not just for the ladies.

Be Safe About Stretching
While stretching is good for you, be sure that you don't over do it and are safe about it. Stretching should be a slow, gradual flow or movement, not a fast, forced, and jerky one. Focus on stretching the shortened tight muscles, not the ones that already feel loose. You should have a decent mix of static stretching and ballistic stretching. An example of static stretching would be like bending over at the waist and trying to touch your toes for 10-15 seconds. Ballistic stretching would be like doing arm circles.

As always, if you are not sure of what stretches to do or for how long, consult your physician to avoid injury.

Azercord wrote: »

Congrats and good luck to your kiddo! That is one heck of an achievement.

KatieBaack wrote: »

Congrats to your daughter, Mike! That's a fantastic achievement!

And don't worry about losing a week. I lose them here and there too - all part of being a parent.

Thank you. she is super excited and nervous. My wife more so than her I think. lol

Finally feeling back to normal. I got a good nights sleep, which I desperately needed. This morning's workout was Hammer and Chisel-Max Hammer strength. One of my favorites from this program. 60 seconds or pre fatiguing the muscle, then following it up with a max weight heavy set. good stuff. What was your workout today?

Happy Monday. Today I started the Master's Hammer 30 day calendar. This is just half of the program I have done for the past 60 days. I wanted to see what it would be like to do just Sagi's half. We shall see how it goes.

How was your weekend? Mine was busy celebrating my daughters 15th birthday. A few more weeks and my other daughter turns 13. Yikes! Two teenage girls in the house.

30 minutes of strength conditioning, followed by 2 miles of jogging! Today was a good day!

krissyskayla1018 wrote: »

Mom of 14 year old daughter going on 40 and son will be 17 this year when did my kids get so old I'm not!

It's seems to be happening faster and faster.

perkymommy wrote: »

I have a hard time with scheduling anything. I have committed myself to walking on my treadmill on certain days and try to aim for certain times (while kids are in school or after dinner) but even that is tough. I'm the type that if I plan out too much that I will certainly fail at this because real life will take over and I will just push it all to the side. I tend to put others first. I feel like I do good just committing to walking at this point, lol.

Hey, it's a start. I kinda look at scheduling my workouts and doing them like emergency situations on a plane. The flight attendant always tells you that if your O2 mask falls from the ceiling, and you are sitting next to a child, put your's on first, then the child's. If you can't get yourself taken care of, how can you take care of others! I feel it is the same way with fitness. If you can't get yourself taken care of, it's going to be a lot harder taking care of others. In this case, it as alright to be a little selfish

Well, so far the calendar has said it is supposed to be a rest day for me, but normally I save that for Sundays. However, so far, I have not had the chance to do anything. I took the night off so I could go see my daughters orchestra concert, and have spent all morning doing bills and reworking my budget. Kind of sucks learning that with the changing of our employer, my premiums for my health benefits are going up, and the raise I got will not even cover the difference. Well, at least I still have a job, a team that respects me, and leaders I respect.