How to stretch after sport (From Your Local Guardian)

How to stretch after sport

6:49pm Wednesday 28th January 2009

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What sort of stretches are good for me after sport? When you come off the pitch - or when you finish up at the gym or at the end of your run, whatever activity you are doing - it's really good to stretch!

This is because your muscles are fully warmed up, your ligaments and tendons are more pliable, so everything responds well to a little tension applied through stretch.

It is important though that you don't stretch too hard, it's better to think about a slow sustained gentle stretch, and to hold each stretch for 15 - 20 seconds.

Check out Bob Anderson's Stretching book, the definitive guide to stretching, everything you'll ever need to know on the subject! For more in-depth physiology, Michael J Alter's The Science of Flexibility is a very useful read.

In the next blog: What's the difference between a ligament and a tendon?