Improve your flexibility and reduce your risk

Although you've probably heard time and time again that you should stretch before doing any kind of physical exercise, do you know the reasons why stretching is important?

Well after this quick lesson, you'll find out why an you'll also learn how to get the most benefit out of your stretching sessions every time.

Stretching before and after any physical activity can help prevent injury, increase range of motion and it also allows your muscles to warm up and cool down faster.

The more more time you spend stretching, the more flexible your muscles and connective tissues will become.

And if your muscles and connective tissues are flexible, you're less likely to develop painful chronic symptoms such as arthritis. Plus by increasing your flexibility, you're also increasing your ability to move your bones and joints, reducing your risk of injury.

Be Warned: If you do any type of physical activity at the moment and neglect to stretch, your risk of injury grows with age!

Little do most of us know, but it's not actually the muscles that are doing the stretching, it's actually the connective tissues that hold you muscles in place that are getting lengthened.

This connective tissue needs to be stretched slowly and in a controlled movement, or it could easily get injured if the proper precautions aren't taken.

This connective tissue kind of acts like cellophane wrap in a way. If you grab a piece of cellophane and you slowly pull on it, you'll notice it slowly begin to lengthen... but if you pull on it to fast, it tears, resulting in cellophane wrap that is no longer usable.

Stretching your muscles using quick, jerky movements can lead to serious injury and can cause you to have a restricted use of that muscles until it's fully healed... which could be weeks, months or even years after the incident!

So to prevent this from happening, follow some of the following simple guidelines:

When Stretching, you should always use slow, deliberate movements and hold the active stretching positions for a minimum of 30 seconds at a time if you want to get any real benefit from doing it. Your tissues only begin to relax and loosen after 12 seconds in the same position and only get any really benefits if you hold the stretch for more than that time.

The optimal amount of time to hold your stretches is between 30 and 60 seconds at a time, and it's recommended to stretch the same areas up to four times per session.

So pick your stretch, slowly get into position with a controlled movement, hold that position for between 30-60 seconds, slowly release the pose, and repeat the stretch another 2 or 3 times to get the maximum benefit from your stretching session.

The best times to stretch are first thing in the morning after getting out of bed to give your morning a kick-start, right before bed to enjoy a more relaxed and restful sleep, after coming home from stressful day of work to relieve tension, and of course, before and after any physical activity to help reduce the risk of injury and avoid muscle soreness.

But if stretching isn't already a part of your daily routine, do whatever you can to find a way to fit it in somehow.

Over the long run, you'll notice that stiffness from sitting at a computer all day, or from muscle soreness exercise will be reduced and your ability to move around in your body will be greatly increased over time.

If you make stretching a part of your daily habits you'll reduce the risk of any type of injury, your muscles will respond better and you may be able to avoid or even eliminate arthritis all together!

About the author:

If you want to get a flat, sexy stomach quickly, then Jake Berlin is the guy to talk to.

Jake is the author of "The Killer Ab Workout System" -- the system that shows you exactly what you need to do develop, stronger, flatter abs sexier abs fast. This system can be used from the comfort of your own home, or anywhere in the world!

If you want to learn more about Jake Berlin and "The Killer Ab Workout System,"
visit: Ab Workout