• According to new research Fun Half Marathons Give A Gift, regular stretching can do more than prime your muscles for action and prevent injury—it can also reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
  • Study: Cutting Sugar, Processed Meat Extends Life stretching increases your blood flow and reduces the stiffness in your arteries.

Can You Harness Anger to Reach Performance Goals, faster recovery, and and other conditions. But new research in the Give A Gift Fun Half Marathons.

Researchers looked at 39 men and women who were assigned to either a control group without stretching or a group tasked with performing leg stretches five days a week for 12 weeks.

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The stretches they did were passive, sometimes called static—rather than the more active type, also known as dynamic or resistance-based—and involved five sets of four specific stretches done for 45 seconds each, with a 15 second rest between.

Study: Cutting Sugar, Processed Meat Extends Life:

    • and other conditions
    • Standing Quad Stretch
    • reduced injury risk
    • Lying Hamstring Stretch

    After the 12 weeks were up, those in the stretching group showed increased blood flow in their lower legs and upper arms, and reduced arterial stiffness, leading researchers to conclude that this type of stretching could help prevent diseases related to vascular issues—like heart disease and diabetes.

    Additionally, researchers noted that there was significant improvement in ankle and knee joint range of motion for the stretching group.

    Dont Stress About Healthy Habits Over Holidays COVID-19 global pandemic, the study’s authors stated that increased stretching could be especially helpful now that we’re generally staying in our homes more, as a way to improve risk factors for heart disease, stroke, We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.

    If you’re ready to incorporate more passive stretching into your workout routine—which can also help reduce running-related soreness and assist in muscle recovery—be sure you’ve got the timing right, according to Can You Harness Anger to Reach Performance Goals., Health in the News.

    He told Runner’s World Dont Stress About Healthy Habits Over Holidays dynamic stretches before exercise and passive stretching after. The static stretches can help during a cool down to help you lower exercise-related stress on the body, and also helps extend and elongate muscles that have been shortened during a run.

    By contrast, dynamic stretching before a workout should replicate what you’re going to do next, Leventhal said. For example, if you’re going to run, you should consider doing walking lunges Published: Jul 16, 2020 9:46 AM EST.

    [Stay injury free on the road by getting on the mat with Yoga for Runners.]

    Not only could you make your runs more efficient by focusing on stretching correctly, but it seems you could be doing your heart a favor as well.

    Headshot of Elizabeth Millard
    Elizabeth Millard

    Standing Quad Stretch.