July 9, 2004, Newsletter Issue #110: Should You Forget About Flexibility?

Tip of the Week

Consider how much flexibility you need, and in what muscles/joints. Place kickers, figure skaters, and martial artists need to do high kicks, but most of us don`t need that much flexibility. Flexibility will help your golf game, but runners generally don`t require too much and are usually a little tight in the leg muscles. Olympic style lifters are very flexible, but power lifters can get by with less. To lift weights, you only need the flexibility that will allow you to do full range of motion, and lifting weights through range of motion will help develop that flexibility. Stretching before your workout may actually reduce your strength temporarily, but stretching after helps relax and return your muscles to resting length and I think you should do it. Being too stiff may cause injury in subtle ways, like tripping because your calves or hamstrings are too tight and you don`t lift your feet enough. But stretching probably won`t prevent muscle pulls, though it does relieve muscle cramps. So stretch enough to meet the demands of your sport, or enough to reach and maintain normal flexibility, but don`t expect too much from it.

About LifeTips

Now one of the top on-line publishers in the world, LifeTips offers tips to millions of monthly visitors. Our mission mission is to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Expert writers earn dough for what they know. And exclusive sponsors in each niche topic help us make-it-all happen.

Exclusive Sponsor

You can find guidelines for keeping fit by working out 30 minutes a day while improving strength, burning calories, and allowing enough variety in your workouts to keep them fun: How to Get Fit and Healthy through Weight Training shows you how. Read details and ordering info at
http://www.booklocker.com/books/1222.html