Ladylinx feature from My Lifetime

In a perfect world, we would have the time and the patience to stretch both pre- and post-workout — each has specific benefits, and all you really need is a few minutes. But, whether you stretch before you exercise, after you exercise or both before and after, you’re doing your body a favor. Here’s how:

Stretching Beforehand:

Stretching your muscles first is a good way to get limber before cardiovascular activities like jogging or tennis. It gets your blood flowing to your joints and soft tissues, which helps prevent injury. “Before” stretches should be fairly short in duration (about 30 seconds), and gentle — not exceeding 75 percent of your maximum range of motion. In other words, they should be about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is no stretch and 10 is as far as you can possibly go. They’re also less specific than “after” stretches because they primarily target the joints rather than particular muscles.

The two best locations to target with “before” stretches are the lower back/hips and chest/shoulders. One great “before” stretch is the knee embrace: Simply stand upright and hug your right knee up toward your chest. When you feel a subtle stretch, hold for 30 seconds, release, and repeat with your left leg.

Another good one is the pretzel stretch: Stand comfortably with your feet planted approximately 6 inches apart. With your elbows slightly bent, reach behind your back and grab onto each wrist or forearm with the opposite hand. Allow your shoulder blades to relax and drop. Now move the elbows up and away from the body approximately 1 inch. Hold for 30 seconds and release. It’s slight movements like these that initiate greater blood flow to the joints.

Stretching Afterward:

If you want to improve your flexibility, stretching after an intense workout is just the ticket, since cultivating elasticity within each muscle requires deep warmth, which exercise — especially the sweaty kind — creates. You should hold “after” stretches a little bit longer — for at least a minute. They should also be fairly intense, challenging your range of motion by slowly pushing you to the maximum (a 10 on the scale). And, these stretches should be muscle specific. You’ll want to make sure you hit the big ones — biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, chest, thighs and hamstrings — focusing on those you used the most during your workout.

I especially like stretching my hamstrings, which tend to be really tight on most people: Sit on the floor with your legs together and straight out in front of you. Keeping your back straight, bend forward as far as you can, reaching for your toes. Hold for 60 seconds and release. Oh, and here’s a bonus: In addition to making you more flexible, “after” stretches are also good for warding off muscle soreness.