Stretching Exercises Using Resistance Bands to Increase Flexibility

You didn’t sleep very well last night, and you’ve woken up with a kink in your neck. Doing the same motions every day at your work is starting to take its toll on your body. You don’t seem to handle the pace of your life as well as you used to, you’re always a little tense inside. And it’s getting harder to reach your shoelaces. It’s time to stretch!

Muscular shortening and stiffness is one of the easiest physical problems to get. If you don’t take steps to prevent it and it will eventually take its toll. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest ailments to prevent, and the solution is easy and enjoyable to take. Stretching exercises using resistance bands is one of the simplest workouts you can do at home, and no treatment or pill works faster to make your body a more comfortable place to live. In addition, using resistance bands is a great way to develop functional strength. Have you ever tried stretching with a dumbell or free weights? I didn’t think so. Stretching exercises with resistance bands is a great dynamic stretching tool to eliminate those tight joints.

Stretching before a run or working out a kink at the desk is where most of us draw the line; any more of a focus on stretching, like doing stretching exercises using resistance bands, starts sounding complicated and time-consuming. In reality, it doesn’t have to be. Great benefits in flexibility and freedom of movement can be had in just a few minutes a day, with very simple resistance band stretch exercises.

Our muscles, like the rest of our body, are intended to work marvellously well. They tense up when they’re told, and relax completely when their work is done. They move us about, keep us warm, store tension and stress that we can’t handle in the moment, and help to circulate our blood and lymph.

The trouble arises when we use our body in ways it wasn’t intended. Improper postures keep our muscles always active; unusual or repetitive work routines stress certain groups of muscles and let others get weak; the tension that our muscles and fascia (broad sheets of connective tissue that hold us together) are meant to store for short periods never gets released, and more gets piled on top; and some of the toxins that we eat and breathe end up in our tissues, serving as an irritant. Left to its course, modern life will inevitably cause us to be tight, uncomfortable, unbalanced individuals.

This is why we need to be stretching. Slow, careful, easy stretching resistance band exercises on a regular basis. There are a thousand and one ways to stretch using a resistance band, but the simplest, broadest stretches are the best place to start. When doing any stretches, remember these tips:

• Stretching, by its nature, has to be relaxing. Ease into it, to where you feel a good stretch but no real pain, and stay there for awhile.
• Minimize distractions and concentrate on what you are doing. If you keep your mind on how your body feels your stretch session will turn into an exploration, instead of a chore.
• And don’t hold your breath! You will release no tension whatever if you’re turning blue.

With these in mind, check back on the blog for examples of stretching exercises using resistance bands, and start loosening up.