Not only "experienced" athletes, but also beginners know that every workout should begin with a warm-up. After completing several exercises, you can “warm up” the muscles, thereby preparing them for the upcoming load. However, not only this depends on the effectiveness of training. In order for the muscles to develop correctly and quickly, you need to stretch after training. What is its benefit, what exercises are suitable for this stage of training and whether they can be transferred to the beginning of the lesson, we will tell you today.
Stretching (or stretching) an athlete needs in order for the muscles to become more elastic and strong. Well-executed stretching exercises will help not only develop muscles, but also increase body flexibility, improve mood and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Before you start training, you should familiarize yourself with the rules for conducting classes. It is especially useful for beginners to know them, because the main problem for beginner athletes is stretching before training. This approach not only does not help to gain mass and strengthen muscles, but also reduces the overall effectiveness of classes.
The classic version of the training program consists of three stages in a certain sequence:
- . During the day, muscle fibers become more or less tight, and joint mobility decreases. If you start exercising without proper preparation, you run the risk of torn ligaments, inflammation of the tendons, or more serious consequences. That is why you should spend a few minutes before training exactly warming up muscle, joint tissues and tendons. A thorough warm-up accelerates the metabolic processes in the body and increases the plasticity of the fibers, which ensures a higher performance of the athlete and eliminates sprains and ruptures of the ligaments during training.
- The second stage is, in fact, the main program of classes. The load that it provides will be able to better absorb the prepared muscles. Due to the adhesion of myofibrils, the muscles are brought into working condition, and stay in it for several more hours after strength training. You've probably noticed that performance peaks around the middle of a session. This means that all the exercises you performed at the beginning of the training were only preparation. Actually, this is why you need to warm up the muscles in order to reduce the time to an accelerated metabolism and bring the fibers into working condition.
- The final part is stretching the muscles after training. Correctly completing the lesson, you have the opportunity to get a nice bonus: quickly regain your strength and tone, get rid of the soreness, avoid the discomfort and pain that beginners usually experience the next day after visiting the gym. But these are far from all the benefits that you can experience for yourself if you stretch correctly.
Why Stretch Your Muscles After a Workout?
The question is quite fair. From an anatomical point of view, stretching makes the tissues of the tendons and joints, which act as attachments between muscles and bones, more pliable and flexible. For older people, as well as for those who lead an inactive lifestyle, such "mounts" are more rigid. They limit the mobility of a person, and with strong tension, low-plastic ligaments can even break. So, stretching allows the tendons to remain elastic, so that a person has the opportunity to move freely and be able to master the load that is optimal for himself.
What about plasticity? What does it give a person? Stretching exercises, as you already understood, increase this indicator. Thanks to plasticity, the human body gets more opportunities. Firstly, it will be easier for him to perceive power loads. Secondly, the likelihood of injury when performing complex exercises or unnatural movements will decrease. And thirdly, the well-being and state of health will improve, as well as the musculoskeletal system will be strengthened.
Practical lessons
In theory, everything is pretty clear. But how to combine to increase the plasticity of tissues, and how to stretch?
There are several rules to increase the effectiveness of training with stretching, which must be observed:
- Perform stretching exercises after training (what this is connected with is written above).
- In the process of stretching, slight pain is allowed, allowing you to understand that you are moving in the right direction.
- Avoid stress and pain. If there are sharp discomfort, it is better to modify the exercise or perform it with less intensity.
- At the maximum point of each exercise, you need to make a short pause (20-30 seconds), providing a sufficient level of load for the working muscles.
- When stretching the fibers of the ligaments and tendon tissues, you need to move slowly to reduce the risk of tears and inflammation.
- The load can be increased gradually by increasing the number of repetitions.
- Target muscles during stretching should be relaxed so that there is no resistance to stretching.
- It is not necessary to use a special breathing system to increase the effectiveness of the stretch. Better breathe the way you feel comfortable, because this is not yoga.
- Train during stretching those areas that were subjected to greater stress + be sure to stretch the back and leg muscles.
- Stretch in front of a large mirror. This technique will allow you to control the progress of the workout and monitor the correctness of the movements.
Varieties of complexes
There are several varieties of stretching after a workout, which differ in the exercises included in the complex. For example, the classic version includes exercises to work out various muscle groups of the whole body. Its duration is about 1 hour. If you make an individual complex, which will include selective exercises for the muscles involved most during the training, stretching will take only 10-20 minutes. However, it will be almost as effective.
We offer an example of a video with an express complex for the correct completion of the training for girls.
As for a more detailed version, during such a hitch, the main muscle groups are stretched:
Upper body (neck, chest, arms, back)
To work out the muscles in the chest area, you need to take a position, as in the photo and make a deflection with the spine until slight discomfort appears. For the shoulders and trapezius muscles - the next exercise is to take the straight arm to the side. To increase the effect, you can turn your head in the same direction where the stretching hand rushes. For triceps, you can perform fairly simple movements with a short towel. Grabbing the edges of the towel from behind, as shown in the photo, you need to stretch the muscles of the upper arm by pulling the second edge down. The lats are stretched in a wide grip stance from which the spine is arched (see same photo). The warm-up for the neck after a workout is the simplest - it's tilting the head from side to side with a moderate pace. The biceps are warmed up after training when performing the next exercise. Standing at the door, you need to grab the door jamb and smoothly turn your arm around its axis, preventing pain. 
lower body
To stretch the inner thigh after training, a modified “butterfly” is suitable - an exercise in which you need to put your foot to the foot in a sitting position against the wall and tilt the body forward. The lower back can be stretched by sitting on a bench or chair and, legs wide apart (as in the photo), lower your chest to your hips. You can increase the elasticity of the biceps muscle by tilting the body while sitting on a bench with the leg extended forward (see photo). The outer part of the thigh is also worked out while sitting against the wall. Having straightened one leg, we start the second behind her and try to pull her knee to her chest as close as possible. The study of the quadriceps is carried out in a standing position, resting against the wall. Throwing your leg back, in the ankle area, you need to grab it with your hand and try to pull it up. The calves are stretched when performing the exercise while standing with toes on a stand, lowering the heel to the floor as low as possible.
This can be a hitch complex to perform after a grueling strength training session. But it is also suitable for those who want to properly stretch their joints and ligaments after fitness. As for jogging, slightly different exercises are suitable for them, allowing you to stretch the muscles most involved in running. 
Many athletes who prefer running to strength training neglect stretching. And this is one of their biggest mistakes. Stretching after a run is just as important as the workout itself. For runners, ideally, you should first perform a preliminary warm-up warm-up, after which you can start jogging, completing the training with a set of exercises to increase the plasticity of the ligaments and muscles.
Professionals of this sport quite often have problems against the background of insufficient stretching. This is expressed not only in a tendency to injury, but also in a decrease in the width of the step, a decrease in speed. Correctly completing a run with ligament and tendon stretching exercises, you can make quadriceps stronger and more resilient, the physical form of which directly affects the capabilities of runners.
Exercises that can be included in the express complex before and after running are suggested in the picture below. 
In this article, we tried to explain in detail why stretching is needed and when it is better to start it - before or after a workout. In conclusion, I would like to say that after completing the main complex and the hitch exercises, you can hang on the horizontal bar for several minutes. So you will not only consolidate the results obtained during the classes, but also be able to unload your spine. After that, you can safely go to the locker room and, after changing clothes, go home in a good mood.
