Health Thoughts for Physical, Mental and Beyond

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The Exercise Before Exercises

When going swimming, do you exercise first before diving for a swim? Do you do some stretching before jogging, or basketball or any other sports? What i mean for exercise before exercises is "getting warmed up" or stretching. Preliminary exercise raise the body's activity level so the muscles contract more powerfully and stretch more effectively. Proper warm up stretches reduce the risk of injury like muscle cramps or muscle tear.
Warm up is not just for athletes who engage in different sport activities but they are for every one of us whose bodies must be prepared for the rigors of exercises. Stretching benifits the body in many ways. When you feel sluggish, stiff, numb or in pain you unconsciously stretch the affected part of your body. In fact, you may not be aware that when you wake up in the morning you do activities like stretching your limbs, rubbing your eyes and yawn. These are warming up for the rest of the day's activities.
When stretching you encounter the word "flexiblity", a component of fitness responsible for the range of movement of a joint or joints. Flexibility is essential for smoother movement and for generating some power. Stretching is done slowly, extendinf the muscles as much as possible.
Some parts of the body are extended slowly while calmly breathing and when it reaches the full stretch, the position is held without strain for a specific lenght of time. In Sports Medicine, the proper time recommended is 15 counts.
Proper warm up stretches reduces the risk of injury like muscle cramps or tear. When the muscles are compliant and strong, the range of smoothness of mobility of joints improve. The heart and respiration rates gradually increase such as discomfort is minimized.
Correct stretching is highly effective and puts no undue burden on the muscles. Since you don't feel fatigue, those physically weak and elderly can comfortably do stretches. Blood circulation, muscle resilience and muscle strenght are the immediate results of stretching.
Youthfulness is not just seen in agility, which is achieved by exercising but also by having a rosy smooth complexion. Everytime you sweat, you open the pores of your skin and expel the many toxins inside. Wrinkling and sagging of the skin in old age occur because subcutaneous fats shrink, hindering the secretion of oil by the subcutaneous glands which is located at the hair roots. An oily substance is secreted by these galnds when you exercise.
Stretching doesn't just improve skin and help prevent wrinkles. By activating its functions, the skin's sensitivity is heightened, improving its ability to adjust the body temperature to external temperature. Those who do not exercise need to wrapped in sweaters and socks at a slightest change of temperature.
To Be Continued: The Exercise Before Exercises 2 - Get Warmed Up

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home