Safe Stretching Some simple rules for safe stretching:

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1 Safe Stretching Some simple rules for safe stretching: Warm up first. Warm muscles and connective tissue respond to stretching better and are expected to be less prone to injury. Stretch progressively and hold the stretch. Stretch smoothly and progressively, holding at the extreme limit for seconds. This is 'static' stretching. Don't 'bounce'. Stretching, like weight or resistance training, should be steady. NEVER stretch fast and NEVER 'bounce' to extend the movement (this is sometimes called 'dynamic stretching'). Both cause the stretched muscle to contract in what's called a 'stretch reflex', and that in turn can cause torn or muscle or damaged joints. Stretch muscles, not joints. In general, stretching should be felt in the muscles, not within the joints. Overextending joints can damage ligaments that hold the joint together and weaken the joint. Make sure there's a way back. Never rely on the stretched muscle alone to get you back to a relaxed position. That's especially important if your body weight is contributing to the stretch. The reason is that if you over stretch or pull a muscle slightly, the last thing you want to do is put it under tension. Always make sure either that simply ceasing to stretch takes the tension off immediately (true for al the exercises on these pages), or that there's another support. For example, if you're using body weight to stretch groin and quadriceps, make sure you can use your arms for support. Elbow rotations This one's easy and ideal for the early stages of warm-up. Just move your elbows steadily around in a circle for a while (picture below) and back again. At least a two minutes each way. Increase the radius of the circles so that you really feel that the muscles are busy. Don't go too fast; about circles a minute is about right. Variation: If you have room, do the same exercise with your arms extended, drawing increasing circles with your fingertips.

2 Chest stretch Clasp hands palm to palm behind the back and extend backwards, up and out, drawing the shoulders back to stretch the chest, keeping the palms together. Three times, held seconds. Chest, arm and shoulder Stretches arms, pectorals and latissimus dorsi. Cross wrists, place hands palm to palm and extend upwards, keeping the palms together. Three times, holding seconds. Neck rotation One of three neck stretches, this one rotates the head from side to side, stretching the main neck muscles. Turn the head to the side and use the hand to press against resistance (just before, or just up to, mild discomfort, as usual, depending on whether you're warming up or extending range). Repeat three times, alternate sides, holding seconds.

3 Neck tilt This tilt stretches the main front and rear neck muscles. Stand straight, lower the head forwards (without tucking your chin in) (figure 1) and back slowly, feeling the stretch alternately in the back and front of the neck. Repeat three times, holding seconds. Lateral neck tilt This tilt stretches the main neck muscles, particularly the sternocleidomastoid, towards the front of the neck. Just tilt the head to the side (figure 1.) Repeat three times, alternate sides, holding seconds. This stretch can be varied for greater effect. Variation: The variation in figure 2 increases the effect on the levator scapula, a muscle at the back of the neck that connects the skull and shoulder blade and either tilts the head back or raises the shoulder blade. To do that, either hold the arm behind your back as shown or, better, hook the fingers under a tabletop or similar; both hold the shoulder blade down while the neck tilts. Once that is easy, you can go further by adding a forward tilt to the head; that is, hold the arm down, tilt the head comfortably to the side, then tilt carefully forwards.

4 Back, shoulder and finger flexors Link fingers together, palm outwards and push away from the body as far as you can, extending the shoulders forward as well as the arms to feel the stretch around the shoulder. Three times, seconds each. Lat. and shoulder stretch Mainly stretches the latissimus dorsi and some shoulder blade support muscles. Three times each side, held for seconds.

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