Most people, even those who exercise on a regular basis, often seem to neglect stretching exercises. Weight training and aerobic exercise are important and are usually done all the time by people who exercise, but many do not place the same priority on stretching their muscles. People often will not even think about stretching as a form of exercise and so it tends to goes by the wayside. Overall, and contrary to the popular belief, stretching is very important for various reasons and yes, it really is classified as a form of exercise.

Stretching, for one thing, gives you increased flexibility. By increasing flexibility, you decrease the potential for injury during workouts or any activity including manual labor at work. When your muscles are working against resistance, they contract and that means they shorten. When the loads they are placed under are more than they are used to, the fibers of your muscles will develop microtrama which are small tears in the fibers. As a result of this, the muscles are left in a weakened state while they undergo the repair process. Stretching these muscles before and after they work leads to less tearing and shorter repair times as well as helping to prevent extra damage during their weakened state.

Also, increasing flexibility helps prevent muscle pulls. If you have ever had a muscle pull, then you know how painful they can be and how long it can take to heal depending on the severity of the pull. Pulls occur due to hyperextension of the muscle fibers and the tendons that connect them to the bone. By increasing flexibility, you increase the range of motion that the muscles have. This means that a movement that would have caused a muscle to pull before probably would not now because the muscle is limber enough to go through a much longer range without the strain.

Gymnasts, dancers and martial artists make stretching a large part of their routines to increase and maintain their flexibility. Even people in sports that do not require as much flexibility to perform as the aforementioned ones can usually be seen doing some stretching exercises before and after their event or game.

Whether you are an athlete or not, you exercise regularly or not, you should take at least 10 to 15 minutes out of your day to do some stretching exercises. Stretching can serve only to reap you great benefits and rewards. So, make sure you give those muscles a good stretch each and every day.