Stretching Muscles Properly
Warm muscles up before stretching (i.e., jog for 4-5 minutes)
Don't bounce up and down
Don't lock your knees! Keep knees slightly flexed
Avoid stretches that make you arch your back (i.e., bending forward at waist)
Hold stretches for at least 10 seconds
Relax while stretching (i.e., take a deep breath and enjoy stretching)
Stretch after exercising to increase flexibility
Submitted by Mark Manross who is a doctoral student in the Health and Physical Education Program at Virginia Tech. Thanks for contributing to PE Central!