Group: New Members Greet & Meet - Introduce yourself

New Members Greet & Meet - Introduce yourself
Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 1539, Messages: 27038

Officially introduce yourself to the community by sharing your goals, obstacles or accomplishments. Don't be shy.. we're all here for the same reason. The more support we share the easier it will be to reach our goals!

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Pre-Routine Stretching

ars82
ars82
Posts: 3
Joined: 2009/09/15
United States
2009/09/15, 01:42 PM
My plan doesn't begin until next week and before I learned about this site I started my own routine yesterday... So I'm guessing I'll have to wait a week until I can start my new routine and for the time being are there any good stretching or other exercises I can start doing in the meantime to either keep myself active and/or get myself ready for next week? Also, I was wondering if there were any good tips for pre/mid/post-workout stretching I could do since I usually NEVER do stretching when I workout which I know is very bad for the body and muscles period! I'm antsy to get started on my new routine ASAP, is t here any chance I could push my routine earlier instead of waiting a whole week? Just wondering.

Thanks,

Anthony
alex_morley
alex_morley
Posts: 39
Joined: 2004/07/22
United Kingdom
2009/09/16, 04:43 AM
Hi Anthony,

First of all welcome to the site, hope you find the routines as interesting and rewarding as I have been when you finally get yours!

In the meantime in terms of stretching, I'd do a google search if I were you. It's definitely sensible to stretch post-workout but I would be reluctant to recommend anything pre-workout as it saps the power from the muscles and can actually increase the possibility of muscle damage rather than reducing it.
Good quality stretching following a workout can help reduce the likelihood of DOMS as well as the likelihood of injury so get yourself a good routine and make sure you stick to it.
I try to do the following stretches twice a day (once after workout and once in the evening):

Calves
Quads
Ilio-Tibial Band
Hamstrings
Glutes
Groin

Shoulder
Pectorals

I try to avoid stretching my upper back as they're not as strong as my pecs and if I loosen them too much I have previously suffered from upper-crossed syndrome.

Let us know how you get on and if you struggle to find decent stretches let us know.

Al
ars82
ars82
Posts: 3
Joined: 2009/09/15
United States
2009/09/17, 04:29 PM
Thanks, Alex.

You're going to have to forgive me for not yet understanding all the "workout" lingo (i.e.:DOMS). But I've also learned from Google-research that pre-workout stretching is not the way to go. Thanks for your tips!

-Anthony