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0 In order for your body to properly recover from strength training or any sort of fitness exercise, you need to give your body a rest. Although the concept of taking a day off is a hard pill to swallow, it is something we need to do. So what is a way to stay active on a rest day?
Stretching!!
By definition, stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific muscle or tendon is deliberately flexed or stretched in order to improve the muscle’s felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility, and range of motion.
There are many benefits which come from stretching (see figure below)
Information from: https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/blog/archive/healthy-habits/why-stretching-extremely-important
Stretching will keep you active when you are still trying to give your body a break. Although you won’t burn many calories, burning some is still better than not burning any at all. Here are the typical amount of calories burned from a 30 minute stretching routine:
- A 125-pound person burns about 70 calories performing a 30-minute stretching routine.
- A 150-pound person burns about 85 calories performing a 30-minute stretching routine.
- A 200-pound person burns about 113 calories performing a 30-minute stretching routine.
If stretching is too boring for you, change it up and do some yoga! This is a great way to stretch and also get your heart rate up and the blood flowing. Yoga is a great form of exercise since it is low impact and focuses on flexibility and balance. Check out 7 Yoga Poses for Weightlifters to start incorporating into your weekly routine.
Take care of your body so you can live a longer and healthier life.
If today isn’t your rest day and are looking for workout ideas, go find workout plans here or our workout of the day posts here.
