Monday, 15 April 2019 14:03

How A Stretching Coach Can Benefit You

What’s the most important part of any workout? Is it the exercises? The number of reps? Or could it possibly be the post-workout nutrition? While all of these pieces are integral to each workout, we would argue that the most important step of a workout is often the one most forgotten about: stretching. Whether you think you need a personal trainer for stretching or not, a stretching coach could be exactly what you need to get the most out of your workouts and improve your recovery time.

What Exactly Does A Stretching Coach Do?

While a stretching coach may sound a little peculiar, their purpose is well-intentioned and greatly beneficial to your overall wellness. A stretching coach, or just a personal trainer for stretching, focuses on re-aligning the muscles in your body and improving your mobility to ultimately reduce your risk of injury and strengthen your muscles.

Our stretching coach will work alongside you for an entire session, before or after a workout, and guide you through a series of proper stretches. For each stretch/exercise, you will hold the pose for roughly 30 seconds, when a negative feedback mechanism communicates with your brain to release your muscles. Allowing this amount of time for each stretch ensures that your muscles are properly aligned, that you will feel less sore/fatigued, and that your risk of injuries is minimal.

Why Do I Need A Stretching Coach?

Regardless of whether you lift weights or stick to cardio (or prefer a combination of both), you’ve undoubtedly noticed the effects that your workouts can have on your body.

When you exercise, your body is working hard, which means your cells require more oxygen. So, more blood is being pumped to your muscles so that they can receive that extra oxygen. But, without enough enough oxygen, lactic acid will build up, which can contribute to soreness and muscle fatigue.

During this process, your muscles tear from the exercise because of the strenuous activities. These tears heal and build stronger muscles, but the overall process of working out can cause your muscle fibers to misalign, have adhesions form in your muscular system, and tighten your muscles to negatively affect your natural range of motion. If these factors are not addressed, they can not only amplify your soreness, but they can also make you more prone to injuries and set you up for failure in future workouts.

This is why stretching is crucial to your workout routine.

When you stretch, you are essentially realigning those muscle fibers, increasing your range of motion, reducing soreness and muscle fatigue, and lessening the chance of adhesion formation.

A stretching coach can greatly alleviate these muscle problems before and after your workouts, as they will take you through a stretching session designed to combat muscle fatigue and soreness through effective stretching protocols. Take the initiative to counteract your muscle fiber misalignment with a knowledgeable stretching coach.

Benefits Of Stretching With A Stretching Coach

Aside from the helpful advantages we’ve already touched on, stretching can have numerous health benefits, even outside of your workouts, including:

  • Improved flexibility — If you stretch regularly, you’ll improve your flexibility. This can improve your balance and make you less prone to soreness.

  • Reduced pain — Plenty of the pains you experience are due to tightness in your body. Stretching helps alleviate that tightness, thus alleviating pain.

  • Relieve stress — If you experience stress in your workday, it’s highly likely that stress builds up in your muscles. Stretching those muscles is a great way to relieve that stress.

Check out our other blog post on the importance of flexibility for more benefits.

Whole Intent New Service: Personal Trainer For Stretching

At Whole Intent, we’re excited to share a newly added service on our website: Core, Flexibility, and Static Stretching. During this 45-minute session, our stretching coach will show you proper stretching techniques, teach you how to spot red flags when stretching, and teach you the importance of stretching.

Whether you’re a veteran stretcher or have never stretched properly in your life, our stretching coach will make sure you know the best stretches to combat muscle fatigue and soreness. Book your first session with our stretching coach today!