A recent study done at Brigham Young University in Hawaii suggests that those who weight train and add flexibility training to their repertoire can boost their strength gains by fifty percent. The participants in the study lifted weights three times a week, and added stretching just twice a week to see those amazing gains.
How can flexibility help one lose body fat? It all goes hand in hand. Everyone knows resistance training is important to an exercise program. Weight training increases muscle mass, and increased muscle mass helps to raise metabolism, burning fat even while you are at rest—which makes it the best exercise to lose weight. Flexibility, in turn can increase your ability to make muscle. If your muscles are more flexible, you can lift more, recover faster, and make the muscles work more effectively.
Think of it this way, when you stretch the muscle, it basically grows. When you weight train, the muscles get bigger, but can only get so big because they are a certain size, lengthwise. When you add flexibility training into your workout, you are giving the muscles an avenue to lengthen, which in turn allows them to get bigger when you weight train.
Of course, this growth is dependent upon when you stretch. You need to always remember to stretch warm muscles, muscles that are pumped up with blood. This warmth allows them to stretch more, longer, and keeps you from injuring yourself. If you freeze a rubber band and try to stretch, it will pop. Now, you may not actually pop your muscles if you stretch cold, but you can injure yourself. So, do a bit of a warm up, even if it is easy Yoga moves that you do go all out on, and then begin your flexibility practice.
Yoga is great for this. Yoga provides stretching for flexibility, and it also uses your body weight to strengthen your muscles, so you get a full body workout. Do Yoga after a cardio or weight training session and really begin to see results quickly.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.