Stretching Many people overlook the benefits of stretching before physical activity. Stretching, in addition to warming up, can help optimize your workout as well as help prevent or reduce injuries. It doesn’t matter what kind of shape you are in, your body needs to be warmed up and stretched before participating in any physical activity. The aims of stretching are to gently lengthen muscles before and after any form of exercise, and to improve tissue elasticity / flexibility. There are many different muscle groups within the body that can be stretched. Some tips that one should remember when stretching are 1. Begin with gradual mobility exercises of all the joints, i.e. simply rotate the wrists, bend the arm and roll your shoulders. This will allow the body's natural lubrication to protect the surface of your bones at these joints. Using the natural range of motion the joints have their own fluid to aid in protection. 2. Always warm up the body prior to stretching, as this increases blood flow around the body, which in turn makes the muscles more supple. 3. After exercise, slowly bring your heart rate down before you begin stretching in order to avoid blood pooling within your muscles, which can lead to cramping and dizzy spells. 4. If you’re wet and sweaty, you can put on a sweatshirt to keep your body warm as you cool down. This will also help keep you from getting a chill. You could also take a warm shower or bath to keep warm and relax the muscles. 5. Never bounce while you stretch, unless you are doing specific stretches for certain sports, i.e. ballistic stretching for martial arts. 6. Hold the stretch until you feel the muscle loosen off, then repeat for a further 15 seconds. 7. While stretching you should feel some slight discomfort, if you don’t feel anything, then you may be doing the stretch incorrectly, or simply the muscle has eased off. 8. Stop immediately if you feel any severe pain. 9. Remember to breathe regularly and rhythmically, exhale as you extend the stretch, and do not hold your breath. 10. To remember to stretch each muscle group start with your legs, and work your way up the body. Always remember to do warm up and cool down stretches before and after participating in physical activity. Through stretching one can protect their body from injury as they strive to keep it healthy.