Stretching is a vital part of your workout. Stretching should be done before and after a workout. I know some of you are saying, "what, I don't have time for that?" I'mnot talking about much time at all, however...Maybe 5 minutes of total stretching.
You simply start before your workout with some dynamic stretches. Those get you moving and limber. Let's say you are working your shoulders - so maybe it's 3 or 4 arm circles to the front and three in the opposite direction.
After the work-out we do what they call sustained stretches. That means stretch and hold. In that shoulder example a good stretch would be bringing your arm across the body and holding it 10-20 seconds.
I really wanted to talk about the neck. First, your neck seems to get a little workout no matter what muscle group you are targeting. Even if it's just a cardio day and you are running, you better believe your neck feels it too. Second, if you have any kind of neck strain going on, neck pain issues, or neck arthritis, you should be spending another 60 seconds stretching this.
So for the neck, before the workout, in addition to your other body part warm-up stretches and post work-out stretches, do neck rolls. I want you to do rolls to the front and rolls to the back.
Here's how - flex your head forward and genly roll from one shoulder to the other. Next, extend the head back and do the same thing; shoulder to shoulder. Start slow and only flex or extend as much as the body will allow.
After the work-out you want to stretch to relax and help elongate the muscle. This is good for the mind as well and will allow you to relax and have a good "cool-down".
Additional Reading:
1) Are you afraid to work out because of Neck Pain?
