By neglecting to stretch after training, you're shortchanging yourself with an incomplete workout. In order to build muscle and recover completely, the body requires a full cooldown. By focusing on flexibility, you'll enhance the range of motion needed to extend your body to field an errant throw in a baseball game, move laterally to tackle a halfback in football or ace a wicked serve on the volleyball court. (Read more on STACK's Stretching page.)
Basic Steps for a Complete Recovery
- Make sure you are well-hydrated
- Have a small pre-workout meal 45 minutes beforehand comprising protein and carbohydrates (learn how to create your pre-workout meal)
- Perform a dynamic warm-up
- Drink water periodically during your workout to prevent dehydration
- Perform upper- and lower body static stretches to improve range of motion and gradually bring your heart rate down after intense weight training or interval training
- Within 15 to 30 minutes, have a small post-workout snack high in carbs and moderate in protein (e.g., raisins and peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread) with water
Cooldown Stretching Benefits
- Relieves mental and physical stress
- Allows your body to slowly cool down instead of immediately stopping and sitting down after that last set while your heart is racing
- Can deter delayed-onset muscle soreness (which occurs 24 to 48 hours after strenuous exercise) by removing lactic acid from the muscles
Cooldown Guidelines
- Space-efficient: Standing stretches can conveniently be done anywhere
- Stretch slowly: Gradually ease into each static stretch and hold 10 to 20 seconds
- Breathe: Inhale and exhale naturally throughout each stretch without holding your breath
- Picture: Try to focus your mind on mentally feeling the muscles being stretched
- Stand up and stretch: To start the cooldown process following your last exercise set, perform stretches upright for a smoother transition
- Time-effective: A complete cooldown for the full body, both upper and lower, can be done in under five minutes
Post-Practice/Game/Workout Full-Body Stretches
Quadriceps
- Place left hand against wall
- Pull left foot up toward hip with right hand until you feel stretch in your quadriceps
- Repeat with right hand on wall and pull right foot up towards hip with left hand
Hamstrings/Calves
- Place both hands against wall
- Lunge forward with right leg until knee is close to wall while extending left leg back and pressing left heel down into ground to maximize stretch
- Repeat with left leg lunge/right leg extension
Chest
- Stand about a foot alongside a door frame or pole
- Extend right arm and slowly turn upper body in opposite direction until you feel a stretch in the chest and front deltoids
- Repeat for other side with left hand on frame/pole
Back
- Standing a few inches away, place both hands around two doorknobs
- Bend knees and extend arms and hips away from doorknobs until you feel a stretch in your upper and middle back
Groin, Inner Thighs, Hips, Biceps, Forearms
- With feet spaced diagonally slightly wider than shoulders, bend knees, extend hips and place hands flat on ground between feet with fingers facing toward body and arms supinated (externally rotated)
- Feel stretch in forearms, biceps, inner thighs, groin and hips
Hamstrings, Triceps
- With knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart, bend over and extend arms behind toward upper back
- Straighten arms to feel stretch in triceps and straighten legs to stretch hamstrings
Shoulders
- Interlace hands and raise arms overhead. Extend arms and shoulders slightly behind head to stretch shoulders
Obliques
- With arms extended at chest level, interlace hands and slowly rotate upper body toward right so arms/body turn about 180 degrees. You should be facing behind at the end of the stretch
- Repeat rotation to left side
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