Stretching Exercises VS Cardio Exercises – Which Increases More Flexible?

November 24, 2022 Ivy Smith

Read Time:13 Minute, 10 Second

Whether you calm down after running or stretch at your desk a few times when work starts to be a headache, most of us recognize the benefits of stretching. But we can also admit that we have not done enough. The problem is that we tend to see it as the end point of more intense exercise, which is a form of exercise used to warm up or cool down before you start your real work. But stretching is actually an important form of exercise, although it has been ignored. Experts say that the body should continue to stretch.

Table of Contents

Is Stretching Exercises the Same as Cardio Exercises?

Just as other forms of physical exercise, such as strength training and aerobic exercise, are necessary components of fitness routines, stretching should not be ignored. Stretching helps relieve tension in muscles. When this tension is relieved, the muscles have a better chance of getting the circulation needed for normal operation. Circulation is essential in all tissues of the body because it is the way nutrients are distributed throughout the organization. To this extent, stretching can be seen as a form of self-care or self-regulation.

Read More:

How Does Stretching Exercise Increases Flexible?

Although stretching is a sport that we can certainly do at home, it is becoming more and more popular in fitness venues, not only in the curriculum of large gyms, but also in boutique studios specializing in stretching. It has been proved that assisted stretching with the help of professional service providers or stretching “coaches” can improve flexibility, flexibility and blood flow, and improve muscle function.

Here are some other benefits you can get from continuous stretching:

Contribute to muscle healing

Perhaps the most recognized benefit of stretching – and its most common use – is recovery after strenuous exercise. One of the main benefits of stretching is to rearrange the tissue within the muscles and connective tendons. During physical activity, fibers often become disorganized and tense. Stretching helps rearrange them so that they can heal normally. During strenuous exercise, muscle fibers may contract excessively. If the stretching and smoothing are not proper, the fiber may be easier to pull, tear and shorten its range of motion. This is the most beneficial part of a good whole-body static stretching routine when the body is still warm after cooling, because your muscles are most receptive at this time.

It can prevent daily pain

When you begin to notice slight pain and discomfort in some muscles or restricted movement, you may eliminate it as a normal tension caused by sitting at a desk, carrying a lot of groceries, or exercising hard. But “this is the way the body communicates, and some muscles need extra attention to promote better circulation and faster recovery,” Ramsey said. “If this tension is resolved, the pain will often reduce or disappear, and the muscles will return to normal function. However, if the tension in the muscles is not resolved, the muscles will” protect “by tightening, which may continue to limit flexibility and flexibility, and the body may continue to experience some degree of pain. Stretching, if done correctly, is one of the simplest ways to maintain the body. Almost anyone can do it by himself. Stretching is one of the most effective ways to relax these tight muscles. Stretching, if done correctly, is one of the simplest forms of body maintenance. Almost anyone can do it by himself.

It can improve your training

Stretching is a simple and effective activity, which helps to improve sports performance, reduce the possibility of injury, and help to recover from injury. The overall muscle tension has been relieved, and our ability to bend, stretch and turn has been improved. How does the increase in range of exercise translate into our weekly training camps or yoga classes? By stretching to maintain the flexibility and range of motion of all my joints, I can exercise harder and more efficiently. Greater range of motion can improve physical performance. For example, if your hips and back are low, your range of motion will be limited in squats or lunges. This means that you cannot make full use of all the muscles used in exercise, and you are likely to put more pressure on the supporting ligaments of the joints you use. When you improve your flexibility when doing squats or lunges, you will be able to use appropriate muscles in sports and make these muscles play better effects.

How Does Cardio Exercises Increases Flexible?

Cardiovascular exercise, also known as cardiovascular exercises or endurance exercise, is any form of activity that utilizes aerobic metabolism. In other words, during activity, oxygen participates in a large number of cell reactions to produce energy required to maintain activity. Your heart rate increases and you breathe deeper to maximize the amount of oxygen in your blood and help you use more oxygen effectively. Therefore, you will feel more energetic and will not be tired soon.

Cardiovascular exercise is any intense activity. It can increase heart rate and respiration, increase oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, and rhythmically reuse large muscle groups of the body. This activity gradually challenges your most important organs in the body and improves the function and performance of the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Cardio exercises can improve many aspects of health, including heart health, mental health, mood, sleep, weight regulation and metabolism.

In fact, the heart becomes more efficient every time it beats, because it pumps oxygen carrying blood, the lungs absorb oxygen more effectively, and the muscles are easier to use more oxygen. However, with the increase of breathing and heart rate, the range of wheezing should not be so large that you feel the need to stop and rest. In the process of cardio exercises, such as fast walking, cycling, swimming, running or rock climbing, if you have a strong impulse to stop and rest, abnormal pain or worrying symptoms, you must stop immediately and seek medical care.

However, if you want to treat exercise as cardio exercises, you must increase your heart rate and respiratory rate to moderate to intense intensity (at least 50% of normal heart rate) for at least 10 minutes. This is why activities to improve strength, such as resistance exercise, using a weight lifter, weight lifting, and core training, are not considered cardio exercises because they do not increase heart rate throughout exercise.

Is Stretching Exercise Good for You?

Regular stretching has many benefits. Stretching can not only help increase your flexibility, which is an important fitness factor, but it can also improve your posture, reduce stress and physical pain, and so on.

Increase flexibility

Regular stretching helps improve flexibility, which is critical to your overall health. Improving flexibility can not only help you carry out daily activities relatively easily, but also help delay the decline of activity ability caused by aging.

Increase range of motion

Being able to move the joint within the whole range of motion of the joint can give you greater freedom of movement. Regular stretching can help increase the range of motion.

A reliable source of research has found that both static and dynamic stretching are effective in increasing range of motion, although proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching (stretching the muscle to the limit) may be more effective, with immediate benefits.

Improve your performance in sports

Dynamic stretching before physical activity helps prepare muscle sources for activity. It may also help improve your performance in sports or exercises.

Increase blood flow to muscles

Regular stretching exercises can improve your circulation. Improving circulation can increase blood flow to muscles, thereby shortening recovery time and reducing muscle soreness (also known as delayed muscle soreness or DOMS).

Improve your posture

Muscle imbalances are common and can lead to poor posture. A reliable source of research has found that strengthening and stretching a combination of specific muscle groups can reduce musculoskeletal pain and encourage correct alignment. In turn, this may help improve your posture.

Helps heal and prevent back pain

Tight muscles will reduce the range of motion. When this happens, you increase the likelihood of back muscle strain. Stretching can help heal existing back injuries by stretching muscles.

Regular stretching can also help prevent future back pain by strengthening back muscles and reducing the risk of muscle tension.

Helps relieve stress

When you experience stress, your muscles are likely to tense. This is because your muscles tighten under physical and emotional stress. Focus on areas of your body that are prone to stress, such as your neck, shoulders, and upper back.

Can calm you down

Participating in a regular stretching program will not only help you improve your flexibility, but also calm your mind. When you stretch, focus on mindfulness and meditation exercises, which will rest your brain.

Helps relieve tension headaches

Tension and stress headaches can interfere with your daily life. In addition to proper diet, adequate water and adequate rest, stretching exercise may help reduce the tension caused by headache.

Static stretching involves keeping stretching in a comfortable position for a period of time, usually between 10 and 30 seconds. This kind of stretching exercise is most beneficial after you exercise.

Dynamic stretching is an active movement to stretch muscles, but stretching will not remain at the end position. These stretches are usually done before exercise to prepare your muscles for exercise.

Sometimes your throat muscles may feel anxious after exercise, then read this post: How to Relax Throat Muscles

How to Start Stretching?

If you’re not familiar with regular stretching, take your time. Like other forms of physical activity, your body needs time to adapt to the stretching you are doing. You also need to firmly grasp the correct form and skills. Otherwise, you risk injury.

You can stretch at any time of the day. On your exercise days:
Perform dynamic stretching for 5 to 10 minutes before the activity
After exercise, do static or PNF stretching for 5 to 10 minutes

Plan to stretch for at least 5 to 10 minutes on days when you don’t exercise. This helps improve flexibility and reduces muscle tension and pain. When stretching, you should pay attention to the main parts of the body that are conducive to activity, such as the calf, hamstring, hip flexor and quadriceps femoris. To relieve the pressure on the upper body, try stretching your shoulders, neck and lower back.

You can stretch for 30 seconds at a time to avoid rebound. You can stretch after every exercise or exercise, or after muscle warm-up every day. Try this 5-minute stretch routine every day to get you started.

Risks and Safety Tips for Stretching

Stretching may not always be safe. If you have acute or existing injuries, only stretch as recommended by your doctor. If you have chronic or persistent injuries, consider talking to a sports medicine expert or physical therapist to design a stretching program that suits your needs. If you have any physical limitations that prevent you from stretching properly, consult your doctor to find alternative exercises that help improve flexibility. No matter how healthy you are, you should follow some standard stretching safety tips. Although it is normal to feel a little nervous when stretching muscles, you should never feel pain. If the part you are stretching starts to ache, stop stretching until you don’t feel any discomfort. Like other forms of exercise, stretching puts pressure on your body. If you stretch the same muscle group many times a day, you are at risk of overstretching and causing injury. Cold muscles are not so flexible, which makes stretching more difficult. The best time to stretch is after exercise, but if you don’t exercise before stretching, you can consider doing 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up exercise and doing some light aerobic exercise, such as walking or jogging.

Why is Stretching Exercise Important?

Stretching keeps muscles flexible, strong and healthy. We need this flexibility to maintain the range of motion of joints. Without it, muscles shorten and become tight. Then, when you summon muscles for activity, they are too weak to stretch all the time. This puts you at risk of joint pain, strain and muscle damage.

For example, sitting on a chair all day will cause the hamstring at the back of the thigh to tighten. This will make it harder to straighten your legs or keep your knees straight, which will inhibit walking. Similarly, when tight muscles suddenly need intense stretching activities, such as playing tennis, they may be damaged by sudden stretching. Injured muscles may not be sufficient to support the joint, which may lead to joint injury.

The Importance of Body Flexibility

If you don’t perform as well as you expect in the test, it may be time to start trying to improve your flexibility. Stretch your body to make it softer and more flexible, which is good for your body. This kind of training allows easier and deeper movements, while enhancing strength and stability. Stretching your muscles and joints will also bring greater range of motion, improve balance and increase flexibility.

Improving flexibility can bring a wide range of physical benefits and have a positive impact on your overall health. Here are some ways to improve flexibility that may help you.

Reduce damage

Once you increase the strength and flexibility of your body, you can bear more physical pressure. In addition, your body will get rid of any muscle imbalance, which will reduce your chance of injury during physical activity. Correcting muscle imbalances requires strengthening underactive muscles and stretching overactive (tight) muscles.

Pain relief

Once you try to lengthen and open your muscles, your body as a whole may feel better. When your muscles become relaxed and less tense, you will experience less pain. In addition, you may not be likely to experience muscle cramps.

Improve posture and balance

When you focus on increasing muscle flexibility, your posture may improve. Exercising your body allows you to properly adjust and correct any imbalance. In addition, as the range of motion increases, you may find it easier to sit or stand in some ways. Yoga has been shown to improve balance.

Positive attitude

Often doing some stretching and stretching posture can bring a feeling of relaxation. The physical benefits can be extended to a relaxed mental state. Once your body feels better, you may find it easier to relax.

Greater strength

As you become more flexible, it is important to increase your strength. This ensures that your muscles are properly tensioned so that they are strong enough to support you and your movements, making your body healthier.

Improve physical fitness

Once you increase your flexibility and allow your body to exercise more, your body will perform better. This is partly because your muscles work more effectively.

How to Make Yourself More Flexible?

Practice these poses as much as possible to increase flexibility. They can be done as part of your daily exercise or by yourself at any time of the day. Before doing any of these exercises, make sure your body is properly warmed up. Do these exercises for 10-20 minutes at least 4 times a week. Taking steps to become more flexible is a good way to connect yourself and your body. Once your body becomes more open, strong and flexible, you may feel more balanced and better overall. If you have a chronic disease or injury, be careful when starting a stretching program. If you have any health problems, please consult your doctor or physiotherapist to determine the best method.