Should I Strengthen First or Stretch First?
A follow up to a post from the other day; Common Exercise Mistakes #1.
Not addressing posture.
During the prior video I mentioned that certain muscles are generally “tight” and need to be stretched while other muscles are “weak” and need to be strengthened to help with better posture and ultimately better fitness”ing” ß I totally just made this word up.
This leads to the above question of which to do first?
Stretch the tight or strengthen the weak?
I strengthen the weak first (assuming alignment isn’t an issue).
Here’s why.
Imagine a slingshot.
With this slingshot you have a very sturdy handle with an elastic attachment.
The handle MUST be sturdy or else you can never pull back the elastic attachment to make the sling shot shoot.
It’s the same concept with trying to initiate a stretch.
If there isn’t something sturdy to hold where the muscle attaches in place then it will be darn near impossible to actually stretch the muscle properly.
To hold the area in place that muscle must be strong.
When the muscle is strong the joint isn’t moving and the stretch actually “stretches”.
So here at Stowe Training we teach folks to contract a muscle forcefully and THEN we teach them some different stretches.
If that doesn’t make sense; please watch the video as it’s a LOT more clear!
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6P80MwDs4k[/youtube]
Want to get into the best shape of your life but don’t know where to start? Come give us a try. Our 6-Week test drive is available until June 25th. You can learn more AND register at this link http:/bit.ly/TestDriveStowe
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