Bodyweight Exercises: Stretching Vs. Growth
Working on stretching your muscles is something that needs to be done in parallel with making your muscles stronger and bigger. And many packaged routines promise to do that, but most of the time, these routines focus on one and add the other as an after-thought. As a result, either muscle stretching or muscle growth will suffer. And you don't want or deserve that.
When you are focusing on muscle growth, the muscles themselves do not naturally stretch or stay flexible. And, as you work on stretching, your muscles become a little stronger - but that's a side effect. Also, muscle growth without flexibility actually can become painful. And stretching without strength increase can make you just "Rubber-Man (or -Woman)" without any benefit.
If you actually stop working on muscle growth without having done stretching, your muscles can tighten up. This is painful. It also limits your mobility, like how far above yor head you can reach. And - interestingly enough - muscles help pump your blood. Without strong and flexible muscles, your ability to pump blood smoothly throughout your body is hurt.
So what's the solution? Get different routines that focus strictly on either muscle growth or strength, and ones that focus on stretching. Then, after you have experience with these, develop your own routines. For example, I have a few mix-and-match routines between bodyweight exercises and yoga, where some are 25 minutes of yoga and 20 minutes of bodyweight exercises and some are 10 minutes of yoga and 5 minutes of (really intense) calisthenics.
Check out The FITNESS Portal for the variety of fitness, stretching, strength and nutrition information you need to develope the range of knowledge to develop your fitness routines.
BONUS with every purchase.
AND - join the newsletter and get our EXCLUSIVE eBook.
When you are focusing on muscle growth, the muscles themselves do not naturally stretch or stay flexible. And, as you work on stretching, your muscles become a little stronger - but that's a side effect. Also, muscle growth without flexibility actually can become painful. And stretching without strength increase can make you just "Rubber-Man (or -Woman)" without any benefit.
If you actually stop working on muscle growth without having done stretching, your muscles can tighten up. This is painful. It also limits your mobility, like how far above yor head you can reach. And - interestingly enough - muscles help pump your blood. Without strong and flexible muscles, your ability to pump blood smoothly throughout your body is hurt.
So what's the solution? Get different routines that focus strictly on either muscle growth or strength, and ones that focus on stretching. Then, after you have experience with these, develop your own routines. For example, I have a few mix-and-match routines between bodyweight exercises and yoga, where some are 25 minutes of yoga and 20 minutes of bodyweight exercises and some are 10 minutes of yoga and 5 minutes of (really intense) calisthenics.
Check out The FITNESS Portal for the variety of fitness, stretching, strength and nutrition information you need to develope the range of knowledge to develop your fitness routines.
BONUS with every purchase.
AND - join the newsletter and get our EXCLUSIVE eBook.
