Stretching and flexibility and Aerobic exercise

Stretching and flexibility

Stretching is a powerful part of any exercise program. Most aerobic and strength training programs inherently cause your muscles to contract and tighten.

Stretching after you exercise may help improve the range of motion about your joints and boost circulation.

As a general rule, stretch your major muscle groups after you exercise. In some studies, pre-athletic event stretching has been shown to decrease athletic performance.

Overall, however, stretching after exercise can help you to optimize your joint range of motion. If you don't exercise regularly, you may want to stretch a few times a week after a brief warm-up to maintain flexibility.
When you're stretching, keep it gentle. Breathe freely as you hold each stretch for around 30 seconds. Try not to hold your breath. Don't bounce or hold a painful stretch. Expect to feel tension while you're stretching. If you feel pain, you've gone too far.
Moving in sport- or activity-specific motion planes in gradually progressive speed (dynamic stretching) may be a helpful complement to static stretching and may help improve athletic performance.

Aerobic exercise

Regular aerobic exercise can help you live longer and healthier. After all, aerobic exercise reduces health risks, keeps excess pounds at bay, strengthens your heart and boosts your mood.

Healthy adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. That doesn't have to be all at one time, though. Aerobic exercise can even be done in 10-minute increments.

And recent studies report significant health benefits from interval training, which means exercising at your near maximal intensity for short periods of 60 to 90 seconds.

For many people, walking is a great choice for aerobic exercise. In fact, walking is one of the most natural forms of exercise. It's safe, it's simple and all it takes to get started is a good pair of walking shoes and a commitment to include aerobic exercise in your daily routine.

Of course, there's more to aerobic exercise than walking. Other popular choices include swimming, bicycling and jogging. Activities such as dancing and jumping rope count, too. Get creative.