Day 23 of 5am - Stretching

Today, I did a 10 Minute Solutions video with the Stability Ball which included 10 minutes of Lower Body, 10 minutes of Cardio, and 10 minutes of Stretching.  While the idea of doing 10 minute workouts is nice, what I have heard and read is that to really get the burn you want, it is better to do 30 minutes to an hour.  Otherwise your heart rate is not high enough for a long enough period of time to really get that burn.  Maybe once you reach a time where you are just maintaining it might work, I don't know, but for weight loss it is not optimal.  Anyhow, with these videos I link 3 workouts together to get at least 30 minutes.

Ok, so stretching. I could say that it is important, but I'm starting to realize that everything I am telling you is important. Stretching helps with the elasticity of your muscles.  What you need to know about stretching is that it is not a good idea to stretch your muscles without first working them a little.  In the video I watched this morning, the trainer reminded her audience that the muscles need to be warm before you stretch, otherwise you  can wind up injuring yourself.  Maybe this is why I hurt my ribs so many years ago because I was stretching tightened muscles without first warming them up!  Anyways, so as you are doing your workouts, make sure that you are engaging your muscles first before you start stretching them.  Stretching is good to do a little before your major workout of cardio or strength exercises, but I believe it is most important to stretch after your major workout so that you are lengthening those muscles out and also helping you to feel less sore in the long run.

As I mentioned yesterday, I've had some back problems, but today, I feel sooooo much better.  I think it is because of the exercise (and the fact that I had a lot of protein for lunch and dinner).  So I am happy I made the decision to start working out again yesterday.

Oh yes, as I mentioned also in one of my updates on facebook, I will be reading "Seven Pillars of Health" by Don Colbert if anyone would like to join me.  I will probably be including some things that I learn from that in my blogs for the next several weeks.  Can't wait to read it and share with others as well as hear what others are learning from it as they read with me. Hope you all have a great Friday!