8 Benefits of Stretching Exercise before Walking and Jogging

What is a stretching exercise? It is a technique that improves the flexibility of the muscles and joints. Moreover, it enables greater agility of the muscles and joints at natural angles. Stretching elongates muscles and also increases the elasticity of the muscles. Stretching exercises are recommended for every physical workout. Before you exercise, jog or play games, stretch. Also, stretch after an exercise or jogging session.
Prepared to stretch your body for 5-10 minutes before doing aerobic exercises. Before jogging, play a game of football, or tennis, and stretch your body muscles. This elongates the muscles and increases flexibility. The result is fitness.

Stretching exercises are to be done with care.

1. Stretch slowly and relax.

2. Do not force yourself to do a stretch.

3. It will bounce back, and you get injured on your muscles.

4. Stretch only to the point of mild tension.

5. If you feel pain, stop.

6. Always breathe in and out at every stretch.

Hold a stretch for a minimum of 20 to 30 seconds. 60 seconds is optimal for senior citizens. A respite of 10 seconds is okay.

Before you stretch, think of a simple nutrition plan.

• Suck an orange or drink 'dilute' real orange juice, or your favourites fruits and juices. Eat dried grapes, dates, and raisin.
• Eating dried dates and grapes will greatly improve your muscle strength due to its mineral and vitamin contents.
• Drink a glass of sugarcane juice or chew the sugarcane. Sugarcane juice will provide you with enough energy.

But never eat a heavy meal. Sliced lime or lemon into a glass of water and sip slowly.

After stretching and exercise workouts, eat a balanced high protein meal when you are hungry. This increases your metabolic rate. Eating fresh coconut meat is good. You should restrict your diet to complex carbohydrates 10%, lean protein 40%, and polyunsaturated fats 10% The rest is fruits and vegetables. Limit fatty kinds of seafood and animal fats to 10g. Get more from seeds and nuts that are satisfying. Though the hunting-gathering man with a slender, lean body eats animal fats, Tuloh wrote that it occurs on average one or two times a week. This is affirmed by Truswell and other authorities. Eat less saturated animal and synthetic fats.

You need to exercise regularly. Your energy intake must be balanced with the energy expended. If you are taking a higher calorie diet with minimal or no exercise at all, then, you are bound to retain your body mass index. No wonder, the weight of sedentary persons seems to be on the upside. They got their meals from the fast food outlet. They're consumed more calories than is necessary. So "run, jump, walk," writes Tuloh.

Both Tuloh and Truswell made a field study of the Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari in1968, respectively. They noted the nutritional partner of the tribe and mobility. They observed that the bushmen's diet consists of leafy greens, seeds, fruits, herbs, very few cereals (concentrated carbohydrates), roots, and spices. Furthermore, they include some meat and fish. 'The protein intake', says Tuloh, 'was well above the recommended daily minimum of the Food and Agricultural Organization...what was particularly impressive was their range of diet. The tribe used more than eighty different kinds of plants for food, most of those are used very infrequently...one-third of the total food was meat'. Varied your diet with low-calorie fruits and vegetables, including low fats and high protein foods.

Why people will not exercise according to Tuloh in his 'Naturally Fit', and Professor Truswell in his 'ABC OF NUTRITION' range from eating 'junk' foods, staying conditioned to the TV set and laptop, going shopping with cars, buses, or underground for a distance less than a mile, and taking the lift or elevator.

They observed further that the so-called cardiovascular diseases are unheard of among the Bushmen. They also explain that the tribesmen exercise much by hunting animals for up to 2 hours. Dancing, re-enacting warfare, and hunting expeditions. 'Beyond Europe and Anglo-Celtic North Americans', writes Truswell, 'they are almost a pandemic of type 2 diabetic occurring in some communities that may have earlier experienced undernutrition but are now sedentary and eating refined high energy western foods'. Truswell then advises people to begin walking for 30 minutes daily, travel by foot, walk all the way to shops, school, and work, take a standing position to watch the streaming TV, all these to condition and walk the legs. Tuloh reminds us that 'if the car breaks down, the thought of a two-mile walk is not a problem'. He then cites the case of Edward Payson Weston at the age of 70 walked from New York to Los Angeles, 7000 miles and back. Larry Lewis at 100 years was jogging 5 miles regularly. And, Christopher Iordanidis 95 run a marathon race of 26 miles in 6 hours and 42 minutes.

Make a plan to jog three times a week. The choice of the days must be suitable for the exercises. Moderate jogging exercise of 60 minutes including stretching can be done. Start with brisk walking around a football field three times daily for four weeks. This conditioned the legs and heart muscles. Then you can start your stretching exercises. Doing 5 minutes of stretching and exercising, followed by 30 minutes of jogging, is a good idea. Jog slowly and leisurely. Start with less than half a mile, then increased the workload (distance) after six months to half a mile, then one mile. Here you will begin to jog three times a week (1/4 of a mile a day). Slow, leisurely jogging has a better advantage over running at this time. So, jog slowly and leisurely. Do not worry about the timing. The longer the distance, the slower you go, and the healthier, stronger, and fitter you become. On average, it takes 1 hour 45 minutes for a 60-years old man to jog a mile and back.

You should couple your jogging with brisk walking. As you jog for 10 minutes, slow down and take a brisk walk for 2 to 3 minutes and resume jogging. This trick will adjust your body. Breathe in and out during your jogging and walking exercises.

Many studies and research have been done on stretching exercises. All these studies have one thing in common: the effect of stretching workouts. It is noted that regular stretching and exercise lead to significant health gain.

Stretching exercises are flexibility exercises. Its importance lies in giving the body more freedom to move at any natural angle. Some men approaching middle age are unable to wear pants, boxers or trousers standing. I recalled my father and other elderly men doing this past 50 years when I was just a boy. It is common for many men.

As you age, the body can lose its muscle elasticity and thus freedom of movement in the joints. Sitting in a chair, you may find it hard to bend down and tie your shoe because the back or backbone is stiff. Putting the key into a keyhole and turning it is a challenge. In effect, it means the body has lost its elasticity. All these and many other signs of being unable to do minor social activities are a signal of muscle atrophy.

Stretching exercises varied. Dynamic stretching has a better advantage over the others. One feature is the freedom of movement in the muscles and joints. They also give you the ability to carry on daily physical activities like wearing your clothes, tying your shoes and neck tie, and turning a key in the keyhole. They help you reach the object on a shelf. Flexible dynamic stretching exercises will stretch the neck and upper body; will stretch the shoulder and arm; will stretch the chest, back, and ankle; and will stretch the thigh, hip, and calf. In addition, it created balance when you rightly stand on one leg for 30 to 60 seconds; and then on the other. Balance can be further realized by brisk walking.

Do 5 repetitions of the stretches and take 10 seconds of respite for each.

1. Thigh stretch: stand straight on the floor or ground. Walk from one point and back to the starting point with your toes. This will stretch the calf and the inner thigh.
2. Hand stretch: you can stand to do it. Hold out your hands in front of you. Open and close your fingers repeatedly. Strengthen the fingers and hands.
3. Neck stretch #1: stand with your hands by your side. Turn your head to one side at 90^o and return the head to the starting position after 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side at the same angle of 90^o for 30 seconds.
4. Neck stretch #2: with the same position as in #1 above, tilt your head sideways towards the right shoulder and hold for 30 seconds and return the head to the starting position. Tilt the head on the opposite side for another 30 seconds.
5. Neck stretch #3: still with the same starting position as the above two neck stretches, this time you tilt the head forward to stretch the back of the neck for 30 seconds; and release it.
6. Shoulders, middle back, arms, hands, fingers, and wrists: interlaced your fingers and stretch out your arm just parallel to your head. The palms should be turned out and held for 30 seconds.
7. Middle of the backstretch: standing with your hands on your hips, twists your torso at the waist on the right side for 30 seconds; return to starting position and do so on the left side for another 30 seconds. Your knees should be kept slightly flexed.

Do these workouts after stretching. 2 or 3 times in the week gives good results. You can combine brisk walking and jogging, for example. Each exercise will take 30 minutes after 5 minutes of stretching. Some like the jumping-jack can be done indoors or on your premise.

1. Brisk walking.

2. Swimming.

3. Planks.

4. Squat.

5. Rope skipping or rope jumping.

6. Butt kick.

7. Push-Ups.

8. Mountain climber.

9. Side planks.

10. Jogging.

11. Running.

12. Boat Pose.

After stretching and exercising, do some recovery.

• Walk 30 yards and back.
• Jog slowly for 5 minutes.
• Do some dynamic exercises: push-ups and down, jumping-jack, straight leg kick, and knee to chest slowly
• Swim for 5 minutes slowly, and do the back float for 3 minutes.

These brief exercises, helps you to recover well.

Stretching daily is what is good for a senior past 40 years. How long does it take such a one to stretch? You need just 5 -10 minutes for simple work-outs. If a senior does not stretch daily, all the body muscles will begin to degenerate. A balance between extensors and flexors will not be achieved and properly coordinated. The result will be bad posture, round back, and walking while bending forward. Seniors need only 60 seconds to hold a stretch, for example, one-leg stands to maintain balance and coordination. But seniors can stretch 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes.

When one age, mobility in the joints and muscles reduces. Hence, loss of flexibility comes with a reduction in daily activities. But research studies have pointed out that when persons improved flexibility, their way of life also improves. If a senior does not stretch daily to maintain the flexibility of the muscles, they are very like hood that the range of motion in the joints and muscles will soon come to a state of inactivity or a reduction. For this reason, taking 30 minutes to walk daily is suggested. Couple this with deep breathing always.

Do some exercise and jogging sessions without stretching for a week. Take one week's break. Stretch and do the same exercises for a week. At what point do you think pains occurred? You should test the challenge yourself and see the results for yourself. My conclusion is that pains occurred without stretching and if you overdo the stretches and exercises.

1. ABC of Nutrition, by A. Stewart Truswell, BMJ Books, London.

2. Wikipedia stretching

3. Naturally Fit, by Bruce Tulloh, Arthur Baker Ltd, London.

4. Stretching exercises

5. Nutrition: A Consumers Guide to Good Eating, by Sheila Bingham, Corgi Books, London.

6. For the Fox News story: Nigerian Sunday Telegraph, Sunday, July 29, 2018.