When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, there are many elements that make up the puzzle. Besides just sweating it out, staying fit requires a healthy diet, sticking to a pre- and post-workout routine, and making sure that you get all the nutrients you need.
Of course, staying the healthy course is hard work, and many times all of us are guilty of letting something fall by the wayside. [...]
You’ve fit in intense 20-minute workouts and slaved away in spin class all week. So when it comes to your rest day, help your body rehab by stretching or taking yoga – it’ll complement your normal workout routine to keep you on the right track.
A light workout like yoga will complement all the calorie-burning, high-intensity exercises you do in your workout. [...]
A proper warmup starts your workout on the right foot, prepping both your muscles and lungs for what’s to come. Once the staple of readying the body for exercise, stretching has fallen under scrutiny of late. Studies have found that static stretching, holding the stretch for 30 seconds to two minutes, is basically a wash as it neither causes nor prevents injury. [...]
The shower is an excellent place to stretch. I stretch in line at the grocery store and I do stretches in my bed, so why not stretch in the shower? I turn on the soothing hot water, close my eyes, and do these simple stretches as the warm water relaxes my muscles. [...]
It could be my dancing background, or my love of yoga, but stretching is the icing on the cake of a great workout (I badly mixed a dessert metaphor with exercise, but sometimes I exercise with cake on the brain). After sweaty strength-training sessions, my Equinox trainer Lauren stretches me out, making me feel like an important athlete. [...]
Indoor cycling offers an hour of sweaty cardio goodness. Your legs power this workout, so it’s best to stretch those tired muscles as soon as you hop off your stationary bike. In fact, that stable bike makes for a great stretching partner.
If you only have two minutes to spare on flexibility training, you should focus on your hamstrings and quads. [...]
I have never been a fan of stretching before a run and prefer a dynamic warmup instead. I like to get my blood moving first and save the stretching for a post-run treat. I also feel like stretching a cold muscle can lead to pulls and tears in the tissue. There’s another camp that feels quite the opposite: that not stretching before running can cause muscle injury. [...]
Meet Sugar user ku002 and check out the fitness goals she posted in our Get Fit For 2011 community group. By doing so, she entered our weekly giveaway!
2011 Goals
1. Stretch every day! This can be in the form of a yoga class, a quick wake-me-up toe touch when I get out of bed, or a little pause in the workday (in the privacy of my office!). [...]
I’ve never been a “hit the ground” running kind of girl. It’s not that I sleep in late or shutter at the sunlight; I just like to lay in bed and enjoy the warmth of my cozy down comforter before allowing my toes to touch the floor. [...]
Long considered less important than cardio and weight training, flexibility training is key to keeping you on the road and in the gym.
Stretching and its merits can be confusing, but one thing is clear: cold muscles do not respond well to stretching. When a muscle is warm it’s less likely to tear, making it best to stretch after you have broken a sweat. [...]
