During this weird time when everyone is for the most part stuck at home, it's been fantastic to see how many people are incorporating exercise into their daily routine.
Exercise is important for so many reasons, and will improve both your physical and mental wellness. However, it is equally important to stretch.
If you have been exercising more than usual, you may find that you are now feeling slightly stiff and a bit sore. This is normal, it means that your muscles are working hard and getting stronger. However, as muscles work, they contract, work them hard again the next day, and they contract still further leading to that feeling of stiffness.
Now, generally speaking, women don't want to bulk up, they want to be lean and supple. Stretching will lengthen the muscles which will not only improve your flexibility and range of motion, but will build lean muscle rather than bulky muscle. It will also help to improve those aches and pains, particularly in the lower back, and can stop leg cramps which are common in calf muscles after a long walk, run or cycle. Muscle tightness can also lead to poor posture as the muscles are not able to work correctly together to support the spine and pelvis.
On Friday 27th March at 11am I will be running a Facebook live stretch session. I will be focusing on functional and mobilising stretches to help ease muscle stiffness. This is not a yoga class, the exercises will be based on common post workout maintenance stretches . The aim is to help you to release the lower back, open the hips and lengthen leg muscles. I hope you will be able to join me!