If you're someone with a gym membership who uses it on a regular basis, chances are you'll know all about the importance of stretching both before and after your work out session.
For someone who doesn't work out as much, though - or even someone who has never worked out but was looking to start to lead a fitter and healthier lifestyle - it would be surprising if they knew how important it was to stretch the necessary parts of your body before a full exercise session.
One of the quickest ways to become injured while exercising is to, for example, walk into a gym and jump straight onto the treadmill, without stretching or warming up in any way. The reason this is so bad is that if you start running straight away, without warming your muscles up first, they won't be prepared for the exercise that they're about to go through and will therefore be more susceptible to being damaged.
Spend five minutes stretching and build up to a running pace on a treadmill after you've spent a few moments walking and then jogging and you'll stand a much better chance of not injuring your body than you would if you weren't to stretch first.
Now you've realised and understood the importance of stretching before exercise, it's time to start looking at the types of stretches that you need to do.
As already mentioned, spending some time on a treadmill is a great way to start any gym session, so it's best to look at stretches here to begin with and the first you should carry out are those which warm up the primary muscles used in your legs for running - calves, hamstrings and quadriceps.
Start by standing with your feet a few inches apart and facing forward. Slowly bend your leg backwards at the knee behind you and grab your ankle with your hand. Hold this for 15 seconds and repeat on the other leg. Carry out 2 or 3 times and hold on to a door or wall to steady yourself if need be.
Next, stand in the same position you started with previously but this time lean forward slightly and place your hands against a wall. Keep one leg straight and bend the other so that the bent knee is closer to the wall. Ensure both feet are flat on the floor and you should feel your straight leg stretch behind your knee. Hold this for 15 seconds and repeat 2 or 3 times.
Aside from stretches that warm up your leg muscles, you need to take care of your arms and the easiest way to do this is to stand facing forward, place both arms pointing straight upwards, bend one at the elbow and try and touch the middle of your back. Use your other arm to gently push your elbow down and hold for 15 seconds before repeating on the other arm.
The stretches mentioned here are just a small amount of those that you should carry out before a gym session. However, they cover the stretching of muscles which are susceptible to becoming injured easily and whilst you should add into your routine more specific stretches to the type of workout you're going to be doing, these should form the basis and ensure you reduce the likelihood of you injuring yourself whilst exercising.
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For more information about gym membership, visit the Fitness First website.
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