{"id":15139,"date":"2020-07-29T18:53:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T18:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/squad\/?p=15139"},"modified":"2020-07-29T18:53:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T18:53:49","slug":"guys-are-you-stretching-3-reasons-you-should-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/stretching\/guys-are-you-stretching-3-reasons-you-should-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Guys, Are You Stretching? 3 Reasons You Should Be"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you stretch before and after a workout? Do you do a little stretching to ease tense muscles in the afternoon or squeeze in a 10-minute stretching routine before bed? No?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lot of men don\u2019t stretch. Why? A lot of guys assume it\u2019s unnecessary or \u201cunmanly\u201d to do. The truth is, stretching has a lot of benefits. Here\u2019s a look at the many reasons you should be stretching:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h3><strong>Reduce lower back pain<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People with back pain tend to skimp on the exercise to avoid aggravating injuries, but a good stretching routine can actually alleviate pain. Adding flexibility training, like yoga, could ease pain and improve balance as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h3><strong>Clear your mind before bed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research shows that a 10-minute stretching routine that\u2019s done right before bed can help you get to sleep. The time spent stretching can also clear your mind and get your body ready to rest.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<h3><strong>Stretching provides a good start<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking a few minutes to stretch before a workout is a great way to ease into it. While there are mixed reviews on whether or not stretching actually improves performance, there\u2019s no question that it can provide a gateway into more strenuous exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Tips to start stretching<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ready to add stretching to your routine? Here are some tips to make it happen:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Start slow<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pick a time that makes sense to stretch and start doing it. Maybe that\u2019s right before a workout or before bed. Don\u2019t worry about doing it frequently, just start with one session.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><strong>Don\u2019t bounce<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you stretch, you should move in fluid movements without bouncing. Bouncing can pull muscles, not stretch them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><strong>If it hurts, you\u2019re going too far<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stretching shouldn\u2019t hurt. If you\u2019re in pain, you\u2019re pushing too hard. Ease up. Take it slow.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><strong>Hold stretches<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you stretch, stay in position for at least 30 seconds to get the most benefit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><strong>Target muscles you use<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stretch the muscles that you use most or those that are bothering you. Make these areas your priority.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you stretch before and after a workout? Do you do a little stretching to ease tense muscles in the afternoon or squeeze in a 10-minute stretching routine before bed? No? A lot of men don\u2019t stretch. Why? A lot of guys assume it\u2019s unnecessary or \u201cunmanly\u201d to do. The truth is, stretching has a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1045],"tags":[1046],"class_list":["post-15139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stretching","tag-stretching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthymale.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}